Forget the Andrei Kirilenko comparisons for Jonathan Isaac. We’re going in a different, but still somewhat similar direction with a new comparison: Josh Smith!
Everyone likes to make fun of Smith for bricking his way out of the league with inadvisable jumpers, but he was a really legit stat-stuffer for a lot of years with the Hawks. I don’t know if the actual defensive impact was there (something that definitely is there with Isaac), but he put up some gaudy stocks (steals and blocks) numbers, to go along with a healthy dose of the three major boxscore stats. He probably should’ve made an All-Star team, actually. Not more than one, but just a single appearance to reward him for stuffing so many stat-sheets.
Okay, fine, the Kirilenko comparison is better. Isaac just needs to work on his passing a bit (that turnover after the steal where he PERFECTLY split two teammates on the break was an indication of where he’s at right now), and he can be the black Kirilenko with a fro instead of a floppy mop. Funky jumpshot and all.
I swear at one point the boxscore listed Isaac as having eight steals in this game, which somehow feels a lot more than just seven. Eight, that’s really close to a triple-double, seven isn’t really. But seven is what we get, apparently. Still a really high number, but it only ties the high in the NBA this year instead of setting a new high outright.