I, along with every NBA fan, was forced to endure an entire offseason of Magic fans telling me how good Jonathan Isaac was going to be. Improved offensive game this and multipositional defender that. Blah blah blah. Isaac had not shown enough in his rookie campaign to generate such confidence from a fanbase; this was clearly a case of a fanbase desperate for any shred of hope, so desperate that they exaggerate the abilities of the one young potential franchise player they still had.
Meanwhile, I think they were all dissing (if not dissing, then not appreciating enough) Nikola Vucevic, and now look what’s happened. Vucevic is a deserving All-Star, and Isaac is still mostly a raw bundle of limbs and athleticism, with some intriguing skills mixed in.
Strangely, I’m not hearing much gloating from Magic fans now that Isaac is playing well these last few games. I’m imagining that most of them passed away from being let down so hard (again) with a team that failed to live up to expectations (again). Are any of you still out there? If you’re alive, press 1 to communicate your faith in John Hammond and his mad desire to acquire lengthy players, press 2 to express disdain for Scott Skiles, or press 3 to tell me that Isaac is going to be really good this year, for real this time.