Jonathan Isaac’s defense will be a problem for Cavaliers
Isaac’s defense will be an issue for Donovan Mitchell and company.
The first-round series between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic will be won by whatever team executes best in the half-court offense. Orlando’s second-rated defense and Jonathan Isaac will make it difficult for Cleveland to do so.
The Magic have struggled to score all season. They have the 22nd-ranked offense which has primarily been supplemented by their ability to get to the line and create second-chance points. Wendall Carter Jr. has been the starting center for most of the season due to his theoretical ability to space the floor and be a positive offensive player. Head coach Jamahl Mosley decided to pivot away from that in their last game of the season by starting Isaac instead. Mosley would be foolish to go away from that decision in the first round.
Isaac elevates everything the rest of the Magic do on the defensive end. He takes them from an elite defense to one that is nearly impossible to score on. Orlando has a 105.6 defensive rating when Isaac is on the floor. That’s 7.8 points better than it is with him off (94th percentile). It’s easy to see why that’s the case if you watch him on the defensive end.
Isaac has the versatility to hang with guards on the perimeter, can blow up pick-and-rolls, and is one of the best rim protectors in the league.
These skills show up in his impact numbers. Opponents are taking 3.8% fewer attempts at the rim when he’s on the court (95th percentile) and are shooting 3.2% worse when he’s on the floor (82nd percentile). Offenses are converting just 63.1% in the restricted area when he’s on the court (83rd percentile). This isn’t too surprising since Isaac has the highest block percentage in the league (3.9%).
Neither the Cavs nor Magic were fully healthy in any of their four regular season meetings. The Magic won the two that Isaac played and lost the two he didn’t. The Cavs posted a 122.9 offensive rating when Isaac was off the floor and just a 92.1 when he was on this season. If you just look at the two games Isaac played, Cleveland’s offense was 23.9 points per 100 possessions better Isaac was on the bench.
Isaac didn’t start either game against the Cavs. This left him primarily playing against bench lineups with more shooting than Cleveland’s starting unit. The extra spacing didn’t limit Isaac’s defensive impact.
In the play below the Cavs tried to run an action to get Georges Niang an open three. Isaac pushed Niang’s attempt further into the perimeter while offering a good contest.
Isaac does a good job of being a help defender. Here, he was in the correct position to cut off the pass to the corner while still defending the rim.
Isaac’s inability to stay healthy and his limited offensive game is why he’s only started two games for Orlando. He’s shown some flashes as being a decent three-point shooter, but he doesn’t have the feel or well-rounded game to be a positive offensive contributor on a nightly basis.
That said, he is one of the best offensive rebounders in the league, which is an area that should benefit Orlando this series. Isaac grabbed 9% of his team’s misses this season which translates to 2.9 offensive boards per 36 minutes.
The Magic excel in many of the areas the Knicks did last season. While Orlando doesn’t have a dynamic scorer like Jalen Brunson, their defense is head-and-shoulders above New York’s with two of the league’s best defenders in Isaac and Jalen Suggs. This will be a good test to see whether the Cavs learned the appropriate lessons from last postseason.