25-under-25: The best of the rest

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LAS VEGAS, NV – JULY 6: Jonathan Isaac #1 of the Orlando Magic speaks to Dennis Scott after the game against the Brooklyn Nets during the 2018 Las Vegas Summer League on July 6, 2018 at the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images) /

31. Jonathan Isaac, Orlando Magic

I don’t know what Jonathan Isaac is going to be as an NBA player, nor does any other writer. Neither do the Orlando Magic, or anyone else in the league. If someone claims to know what his ceiling (or floor) is, they’re lying. We simply haven’t seen enough to make any judgment.

Here’s what we do know: he’s still not old enough to drink, is nearly 7-feet tall, hit 34.8 percent of his 3s last season and can move like a gazelle. Other than that, it’s anyone’s guess how he continues to develop.

While it’s almost certainly coincidental that Orlando’s season fell apart after Isaac went down with an ankle injury that ultimately cost him 55 games (they were 8-4 with him in the lineup early on), there’s no denying his impact on their defense. With Isaac on the floor, their normally 20th ranked defense was more efficient than the league-leading Celtics. His instincts on that end are already advanced, and he has the size and speed to cover just about anyone in the NBA.

On offense, Isaac is a lump of clay. Ben Falk recently threw a little cold water on a summer league performance that garnered a fair bit of praise, but it was undoubtedly a step in the right direction.

He had nowhere to go but up. Last year, the Magic scored a hair over 94 points per 100 possessions with Isaac on the floor, which was the third worst individual offensive rating in the league for someone who appeared in at least 25 games. Combined with a 46.5 true shooting percentage, its’s fair to wonder whether placing him this high in the honorable mention category is unwarranted despite his prodigious talent.

Sadly, we might not find out this season. Isaac will once again play on a team with perhaps the worst point guard situation in the NBA, and Aaron Gordon is still around blocking the path to his ideal position. If nothing else, playing close to 82 games should offer a bit more clarity on what we should all expect moving forward.

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