{"id":448155,"date":"2026-01-30T21:14:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T21:14:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/448155\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T21:14:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T21:14:09","slug":"jonathan-isaac-provides-defensive-spark-for-orlando-magic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/448155\/","title":{"rendered":"Jonathan Isaac provides defensive spark for Orlando Magic"},"content":{"rendered":"

When the Magic<\/a> reviewed the film from their Wednesday night victory over the Heat<\/a>, one player in particular received praise from Orlando<\/a> coach Jamahl Mosley<\/a>: Veteran forward Jonathan Isaac<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because, although it was Paolo Banchero<\/a>, Desmond Bane and Anthony Black who combined for 80 points in the nine-point road win that snapped a four-game losing streak, Isaac changed the direction of the game with his defensive intensity.<\/p>\n

In 17 minutes, Isaac racked up five rebounds, two blocks and steals. He scored just four points with three assists, but that wasn\u2019t what he was asked to accomplish against Miami<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe actually highlighted that [Thursday] in the film session,\u201d Mosley said about Isaac\u2019s performance at the shootaround before the Magic hosted the Raptors<\/a> on Friday night. \u201cThe way he was able to come in and impact again with his defense. It wasn\u2019t about scoring; it wasn\u2019t about shooting the ball or anything else.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was about how he changed the game with his energy and his defense, and that\u2019s what we\u2019re going to need from all of our guys,\u201d Mosley added.<\/p>\n

While Isaac has developed a reputation over the years in Orlando as one of the team\u2019s top defenders, he has fallen out of Mosley\u2019s rotation as of late.<\/p>\n

The 17 minutes he played Wednesday at Miami marked the most he had gotten since he played 10 against Brooklyn on Jan. 7. Isaac hasn\u2019t played five times this season due to a coach\u2019s decision, meaning he was a healthy scratch those nights. Three of those games took place this month (Jan. 2, 15 and 24).<\/p>\n

\"MiamiMiami Heat forward Simone Fontecchio (0) is pushed back by Orlando Magic forwards Jonathan Isaac (1) and Tristan da Silva (23) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday in Miami. (Marta Lavandier\/Associated Press)<\/p>\n

But that hasn\u2019t caused him to feel frustrated or confused by Mosley and the Magic coaching staff.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that they\u2019re trying to figure things out [and] Coach is trying to figure out what works, what doesn\u2019t work,\u201d Isaac said Wednesday night in the locker room at Kaseya Center<\/a> in South Florida. \u201cSo I just try to be myself every time I get in there. My job is to work really hard, try to make it easier on the players around me and be a disruptor on defense.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnytime he puts me in the game, that\u2019s what I\u2019m going to give,\u201d Isaac added.<\/p>\n

The longest-tenured member of the Magic described it as a tough mindset to have at times.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I trust everybody in here,\u201d Isaac said. \u201cI trust every big that we have on this team [and] I trust the coaching staff to make the right decisions at the right time, so I just get in where I fit in. If my number\u2019s called, that\u2019s fun. But if it\u2019s not, then I\u2019m encouraging the guys that [are] on the floor.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Magic hope, when called upon, Isaac continues to remain stout on the defensive end when the team heads back on the road for its lone trip of the season to San Antonio on Sunday and Oklahoma City on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can always see the type of defensive talent that he is once he steps on the floor, and he showed it again,\u201d second-year pro Tristan da Silva<\/a> said about Isaac. \u201cHe helped us out big-time covering for us in the paint, especially rebounding, [and] crashing on the offensive glass. He was just playing with confidence out there, and you love to see it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Up next \u2026<\/p>\n

Magic at Spurs<\/p>\n

When: 4 p.m., Sunday, Frost Bank Center<\/p>\n

TV: FanDuel Sports Network Florida<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When the Magic reviewed the film from their Wednesday night victory over the Heat, one player in particular…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":448156,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,2755,3914,590,142813,2785,12985,13882,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-448155","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-florida","11":"tag-latest-headlines","12":"tag-nba","13":"tag-orange-county","14":"tag-orlando","15":"tag-orlando-magic","16":"tag-social","17":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=448155"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448155\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/448156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=448155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=448155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=448155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}