Yes Yes Yes! Jonny is here!
Excuse me, but if anyone deserves a ridiculous-emphatic chant as the opening of a post, it’s him. The player who embodies the spirit ‘Neither retreat nor surrender’ of Corey Yuen like few others in an NBA determined to spit him out, but where he clung to the hinges and was patient while the storm lasted.
And how long it has lasted. Three years in which many of us doubt that Jonathan Isaac could be part of the game again and not another case of a career cut short and sunk by injuries before its time.
But Orlando waited, and he, the forward pick 6 in the Draft who when he injured his knee in 2020 (months later the crusader came) was on the path to consolidating himself into one of the pieces two-way most coveted in the entire circuit, is beginning to return the favor.
And the Magic are doing everything with such care that, even once he was declared suitable for back-to-back, they continue to put up with him in the second unit. Not an ounce of extra pressure for a player in whom, at 26 years old, they still have a lot of hope, aware that healthy, he is very capable of rescuing a poster that everyone thought was lost. High impact player on both sides of the court.
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‘Everything’ against the Kings
Yesterday, against the Sacramento Kings, and despite the final defeat (109-107), he showed a little of everything that, with time and consistency, they hope he can contribute continuously. 25 points (scoring record), 7 rebounds, 2 blocks and a steal for a great +26 on the court. A perfect first quarter and a good end to the game where he scored 10 of 13 on field goals and exhibited a wide repertoire in terms of ways to score.
There were triples, mid-ranger after bounce, penetrations with grinds, forcefulness in transition, cuts resolved with dunks and even a nice fade-away. And in defense, as always: perseverance, exemplary mobility, always getting in the way and a challenge for any player who faces him in the 1v1.
A month ago it was scary, but it stayed that way; a new scare in the knee that didn’t get any worse. He looks and feels healthier, fresher and fitter since the time of his first serious injury in a pandemic year, and his performance only improves for the Orlando Magic who are ready to compete and make life difficult for anyone in the playoffs.
He said it in the summer, sure of his optimistic speech: «This is really going to be the first summer that I will be able to work fully. In the previous two summers I have been immersed in a rehabilitation process to return to the court. In a few weeks I hope to be able to work without any restrictions, and thus be able to do everything necessary to have a campaign away from physical problems.”.
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All caution is insufficient, but today is the day to celebrate. Defeat through. Today the entire post is for Jonathan Isaac. A great player determined not to give up on what, he remains convinced, must be his destiny.
(Cover photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
2024-03-24 11:41:11
#Jonathan #Isaac
