ISAAC our best defensive player?

[PennytoShaq]

It's sad that the Magic drafted a guy who is already an impact player? Ok.

You really must be doing mental gymnastics trying to explain Tatum's impact for the Celtics.

[JF5]

It's sad that the Magic drafted a guy who is already an impact player? Ok.

You really must be doing mental gymnastics trying to explain Tatum's impact for the Celtics.

You're twisting my point and comparing 2 rookies who are on dissimilar planes.

1. Issac is playing off the bench (on a subpar team no less) and is playing role player minutes as a rookie meaning he doesn't play enough to make a large impact for a huge portion of games. I never said he did not make an impact but his impact isn't big enough to say he would've changed the complexion of this team during the losing streak. As I stated before the team was already struggling to contain teams defensively even when he was playing.

2. Tatum is a 2nd or 3rd option and plays a sizable amount (30 minutes a game) on a team that has the best record in the league. To say that they have the same impact currently is pretty ridiculous.

Edit: Misread your 2nd sentence, my apologies.

3. I'm saying its sad for him to be our best defender as a back up rookie with the team defense being atrocious. I'm not sad that he's making an impact already, which is weird to complain about since i think highly of the kid.

[j-ragg]

Simmons is the best defensive player.

When do we get to see that side of him?

[Skybox]

He is a rookie who only plays 15-20 minutes a game. The impact he has isn't as large as people want to make it. And even then when he did have an effect there were a lot of games where he played in where the Magic allowed a lot of points and high percentage of shooting to opponents. The only difference was the Magic were outshooting those teams in those games.

He's a pretty good defender who I believe will be an elite defender/rim protector eventually as he has the instincts/tools. But he clearly doesn't have that impact now.

Frank Vogel clearly stated that he does. I see it the same way as him. Have not seen a guy that natural at help D at such a young age before.

He has impact but that in which shifts the defense to being decent or elite status? That's an obvious no...

I like him as much as anyone here who believe he's has the tools to be a difference maker. But that's down the line. Right now he is role playing project rookie just trying to find his way, playing rotational minutes on a team that doesn't have enough talent on either side of the ball. He shouldn't be tasked with being the defensive anchor at this point. And it's pretty sad that people are already saying this about a rookie who can barely play 20 minutes a game and the team has been obliterated on the defensive end night in and night out. Shows how void of talent this team is with those sorts of statements.

I don’t want to play him for his impact on the game. I want to play him so HE develops. Let him make mistakes...Forcier is the development guru- lots of personalized film study and analysis. He’s skinny, so what? Play him at SF w/ some switches. Garnett, Giannis, KD were rails too- bring him along carefully but put him in the game already.

[OrlandoDream]

The fact that we have lost every game Isaac has been out is a good enough indicator of how important he is to our defense. Also, is this dudes ankle made of Bounty? Maybe FO is being cautious but damn rook, I didn't expect a minor ankle sprain to keep him out this long.

[PennytoShaq]

It's sad that the Magic drafted a guy who is already an impact player? Ok.

You really must be doing mental gymnastics trying to explain Tatum's impact for the Celtics.

You're twisting my point and comparing 2 rookies who are on dissimilar planes.

1. Issac is playing off the bench (on a subpar team no less) and is playing role player minutes as a rookie meaning he doesn't play enough to make a large impact for a huge portion of games. I never said he did not make an impact but his impact isn't big enough to say he would've changed the complexion of this team during the losing streak. As I stated before the team was already struggling to contain teams defensively even when he was playing.

2. Tatum is a 2nd or 3rd option and plays a sizable amount (30 minutes a game) on a team that has the best record in the league. To say that they have the same impact currently is pretty ridiculous.

Edit: Misread your 2nd sentence, my apologies.

3. I'm saying its sad for him to be our best defender as a back up rookie with the team defense being atrocious. I'm not sad that he's making an impact already, which is weird to complain about since i think highly of the kid.

I don't see it to be sad at all. I see it as the FO making a great draft pick and bringing a guy who has made an immediate impact to the team instead of sitting and developing like say, Brandon Ingram his first year. He is only a backup because he is very young. He clearly is on a fast track to becoming a starter for us.

[yoyojw17]

all i know is.....we haven't won a game that he has missed ..... and we won 2/3 of the games that he did play in. Coincidence.... possibly.... but.... makes ya wonder.

[Last Guardian]

On what is turning into another grim season, Isaac is definitely a bright spot so far. We need more time to study his impact statistically and whatever, but the eye test he certainly passes. He contests hard, he's quick and really friggin tall (for a perimeter player).

With the hopeful re-tooling of this roster, Isaac is definitely a keeper. Now if you pair him with Michael Porter Jr...that could be one hell of a forward combo.

[Orlando_kingdom]

Simmons is the best defensive player.

When do we get to see that side of him?

STARTING 5 DUN PLAY D IS NOT HIS FAULT

[Orlando_kingdom]

all i know is.....we haven't won a game that he has missed ..... and we won 2/3 of the games that he did play in. Coincidence.... possibly.... but.... makes ya wonder.

IT WON'T MAKE A DIFFERENCE WHEN THE STARTING 5 GETTING BLOWOUT IN 3RD QTR
YOU CAN'T RELY THE BENCH TO SAVE YOU EVERYTIME

[drsd]

thelead wrote:
The only stat that matters:

With Isaac: 8-3
W/O Isaac: 0-6
====================

This is an interesting stat if you ask me. Since ISAAC went down, this team went down with him. We haven't looked good in defense from any where else since than. Heck, the close game against MEMPHIS shows how valuable he is to this team, and it was because of his defensive efforts that got us that grind win. We are in the right track getting the right players, but FOUNIER AND VOOCH NEEDS TO GO.

Gordon will have seminar win loss numbers. (and Fournier won't be "bad").


..

[MagicFan101]

I LOVE the small things Isaac is already showing us. I see him as the ultimate Swiss-Army knife for us. I’m a big big fan of what he can become.

But...

This is still a team game. Shots were falling at a rediculous rate at the start of the season. We all knew they couldn’t keep up at that pace but we didn’t expect the injuries to pile on. Isaac wasn’t a primary scorer when things were going well and he hasn’t been the only injury during the fall.

Our horrible W/L record following the strong start is a combination of coming back to reality and injuries.

[drsd]

From the O-Sen injury story on Isaac:

Isaac, who is 6-foot-10, has made his biggest impact with his defense. Blessed with agility, height, long arms and a keen mind, Isaac regularly alters shots. He also has fought hard when he scraps for rebounds against bigger, more experienced players.
The Magic have held opponents to just 101.4 points per 100 possessions when Isaac has been on the court this season, according to the NBA’s statistics database. The Magic’s defense has been worse when Isaac isn’t playing; with Isaac on the bench, opponents have scored 108.9 points per 100 possessions.
To be sure, those numbers should be regarded with some caution since Isaac typically has played against opponents’ second units. But his defensive statistics are still impressive. He has the best individual defensive efficiency rating of any Orlando player.

[basketballRob]

From the O-Sen injury story on Isaac:

Isaac, who is 6-foot-10, has made his biggest impact with his defense. Blessed with agility, height, long arms and a keen mind, Isaac regularly alters shots. He also has fought hard when he scraps for rebounds against bigger, more experienced players.
The Magic have held opponents to just 101.4 points per 100 possessions when Isaac has been on the court this season, according to the NBA’s statistics database. The Magic’s defense has been worse when Isaac isn’t playing; with Isaac on the bench, opponents have scored 108.9 points per 100 possessions.
To be sure, those numbers should be regarded with some caution since Isaac typically has played against opponents’ second units. But his defensive statistics are still impressive. He has the best individual defensive efficiency rating of any Orlando player.

Tatum's is 122 offensive rating and 102 defensive rating.

[basketballRob]

Actually not sure where the Sentinel got those stats? According to basketball reference he's 92 and 108 on defense.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/i/isaacjo01.html

[Xatticus]

Actually not sure where the Sentinel got those stats? According to basketball reference he's 92 and 108 on defense.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/i/isaacjo01.html

http://stats.nba.com/players/advanced/?sort=GP&dir=-1&Season=2017-18&SeasonType=Regular%20Season&TeamID=1610612753

They are calculated differently. The version on basketball-reference uses a somewhat rudimentary approach to approximate players' values based on box score information as that is the only data available for most of the NBA's history. For this reason, it can be wildly inaccurate in some cases.