Just yesterday after writing Fultz, today the Magic official and Fultz himself confirmed that they will complete the comeback of the home game against the Pacers at 8 a.m. on March 1, which is gratifying.
And many people may forget that Jonathan Isaac, who was originally known as the magic team's rise hope with Fultz, is still not out of the injury list, and even there is little news about his recovery.
The last time Isaac played on the court was on August 3, 2020, when the NBA rematch was played in the park. Isaac's sprain and bone contusion in his left knee in January for the 19-20 season were considered season reimbursement.
But I didn't expect that the postponement of the schedule gave Isaac a chance to come back, but this comeback is better than not playing. Isaac suffered a torn cruciate ligament in his left knee during the game, and in the subsequent surgery, he repaired the meniscus of his left knee, scarring the entire left knee.
After the surgery was completed, Isaac confirmed that he would miss the 20-21 season, but now that the 21-22 season is more than halfway through, Isaac still has no signs of coming back. In the words of the fans, Isaac has not lost in the game, and has not played in reality.
Isaac was the sixth pick in the first round of 2017, the fifth to be selected behind Fultz, and his talent was almost overflowing the screen. In high school, Isaac played as a defender and began to enter the interior line after growing in height, so like thick eyebrows, he had both internal and external skills.
He can hold the ball through half-time like a defender, or he can accelerate and then make a snap stop for a shot. On the defensive end, Isaac has excellent lateral speed, relying on excellent bounce, height and arm span, his ability to cover is extremely strong, and the defensive area is also large.
In isaac's scouting report, the only weakness was that his upper and lower limbs were not very strong, his body was too small, and his confrontation strength was insufficient. Still, Isaac was seen as having the potential to be a DPOY at the beginning of the draft, but he was a man of his craft.
It may also be because of the lack of confrontational strength, which has led to Isaac's continuous injury. In the 19-20 season before the injury, Isaac played the best performance of his career, and almost all the statistics set a new high for the previous two years.
He shot 66.7 percent from the basket and improved to 37.2 percent from the jump shot. Even more striking is the defensive end, where he averaged 1.6 steals and 2.3 blocks per game, and you can see just how talented Isaac is defensively.
It is no exaggeration to say that Isaac almost single-handedly supported the Magic's defensive system. He was the only two players in the league at the time, averaging at least 1.5 steals + 2 blocks per game, and the other was Anthony Davis.
He was able to go from the number one position to the fifth position, and that season when the offensive players faced Isaac's defense, the overall shooting percentage would drop by 4.3%, and within 6 feet of the basket, the opponent's overall shooting rate would decline by 10.2%.
At that time, Isaac had almost been named the next generation of defensive gates in the league, a strong contender for the best defensive player. However, no matter how glorious the past, the reality is that Isaac has not played for almost two years.
His last three matches are dated August 3, August 1 and January 2, 2020. The last time Isaac played more than 30 minutes was in 2019.
The only reassuring thing is that the Magic signed him to a 4-year, 80 million early contract extension after his injury, when he had already decided to miss a season.
In Isaac and Fultz, we can see that the management of the Magic is humane enough, of course, the talent of Fultz and Isaac is also worth the bet of the Magic management, as to whether to gamble or win, it is still impossible to make up the mind.