Like individual player statistics, one-on-one can be a poor indicator of a player’s impact on a basketball court. It’s a team sport, and there are just so many situations that a mono-e-mono matchup doesn’t simulate. One way to make such a battle a bit more realistic is by providing a few extra rules: check rock at the three-point line, you’re allowed three dribbles. Check from the foul-line area, you get two. This helps even the circumstances for guards and centers, turning the competition in a chess match of sorts. A quicker player can’t dribble around all day while a bigger one can’t just keep backing a smaller dude down into the paint. Furthermore, help defense is a real thing that exists. Isolation and post-up offense is nearly obsolete in the modern NBA. Efficiency and defensive versatility are the new names of the game – and Sir Jonathan Isaac offers those in spades.
A quick-strike forward with the length of a center and the quickness of a guard, it would be beyond foolish to exclude Isaac from the conversation at No. 3 based on his college stats alone. One of the popular arguments against Isaac being drafted so high is that he was too passive. He didn’t dominate in college, so why will it suddenly happen in the NBA? First, I’d argue that he was plenty aggressive on offense. 12.0 points per game isn’t nothing – and he took just 8.0 shots per contest. He made a move or moved the ball. Pump fake, dribble drive, pass. No pounding the air out of the ball, no nonsense. Often we wonder how a prospect will handle more responsibility at the next level when we should be worried about the opposite.
Josh Jackson and Isaac entered their freshman seasons on opposite ends of the hype train – Jackson a projected top-3 pick and Isaac a more mysterious, athletic specimen with late-lottery upside. In 35 games, Jackson hit 34 treys (on 37.8 percent), compared to 31 triples (on 34.8 percent) in 32 games for Isaac. The Jayhawks frosh finished with better per-game averages in scoring, assists, and steals, while the Seminoles Swiss army knife contributed more boards and blocks.
Isaac
[protected-iframe id=”aafc6261d095a78656f5013712350d0e-114320562-56121583″ info=”http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/seasons/2017.html?utm_source=direct&utm_medium=Share&utm_campaign=ShareTool” style=”overflow:auto” class=”sr_share_wrap”]Jackson
[protected-iframe id=”fd1d9ca22fed07ffdf03725c1ab987f1-114320562-56121583″ info=”http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/seasons/2017.html?utm_source=direct&utm_medium=Share&utm_campaign=ShareTool” style=”overflow:auto” class=”sr_share_wrap”]On the surface, it sure seems like an easy choice for the Sixers. But I always like to beg the question: what would happen if they switched places? Well for one, Bill Self was running Jackson as the 4 alongside a tremendous three-point shooting trio of Frank Mason, Devonte’ Graham, and Svi Mykhailiuk, who together totaled 246 threes on the year – 13 more than Florida State’s entire roster. Isaac on the other hand was the most consistent outside shooter for FSU – the four players with better percentages from beyond the arc each saw less than 13 minutes per night. I think it’s safe to say that Isaac would’ve had some more space to work with on offense had he been operating as the 4 for the Jayhawks. What would Jackson have been able to accomplish if his team was starved for shooting? We might find out soon. Perhaps the most alarming stat for Jackson was his free-throw percentage (56.6). Isaac’s splits (51/35/78) were much steadier than Jackson’s (51/38/57), and Jonathan’s jumper just flat-out looks way smoother in my opinion.
FSU’s Dwayne Bacon and Xavier Rathan-Mayes are decent NBA prospects in their own respects, but neither shoots particularly well from the outside yet. Defensively, Isaac is perhaps the lone rookie in this class who will enter the league and immediately be a capable defender. Measuring in at 6-11, 205 lbs. with a 7-1 wingspan and 9-0 standing reach, Isaac stifled some of the top scorers in college basketball with relative ease. Duke’s duo of Jayson Tatum and Luke Kennard struggled to score over the top of Isaac’s outstretched arms from the outside – and neither was quick enough to blow past him either. In due time, it will probably be the same story at the NBA level, especially as he bulks up and gets stronger. He’s just super advanced on defense. His head is always on a swivel, he slides his feet beautifully, and he can cover both inside and out. Deny the entry pass. Help defense. You name it, he does it. Kevin Durant is a dream comparison, but Isaac, a dreamer who has won the genetic lotto, has elite two-way potential that might only be matched in this draft by Markelle Fultz (and Jackson).
Jackson is no pipsqueak either, standing 6-8, 203 lbs. with a 6-10 wingspan (and 8-3 standing reach), but he may be undersized as a 4. That puts even more pressure on him to fix the hitch in his shot. Meanwhile, Isaac projects as everything except a point forward on offense – with the potential to switch all five positions on defense. Unless the Sixers are sold on Jackson’s jumper, Isaac could be the no-brainer at No. 3 that almost nobody is talking about. A super-sized lineup featuring Ben Simmons, Robert Covington, Isaac, Dario Saric, and Joel Embiid has the size to switch everything, and offensively Isaac is a low-maintenance man who might be perfect for the job. There’s only one ball – and with Simmons, Saric, and Embiid in the fold, there’s no dire need for another playmaker in Philadelphia. Don’t forget T.J. McConnell is dishing off the bench.
It’s a deep draft, and there are good reasons to consider Jackson, Malik Monk, Dennis Smith Jr., and several others. The latter of those two seem destined to struggle on defense in the big league, though the Sixers could probably make up for at least one slouch on that end if Embiid’s worst days are done. Meanwhile, Josh might be too ball-needy if he doesn’t improve his shooting. Fellow former Jayhawk forward Andrew Wiggins figured out how to drain buckets from beyond the arc, but he doesn’t do much else besides score at this point in his career. Jackson theoretically brings all of the intangibles (and tangibles) that Wiggins still lacks (albeit at just 22 years old). Nevertheless, there’s no guarantee Jackson will make that same leap as a perimeter shooter.
With the non-shooting point Simmons at the helm, the Sixers need to be careful about how they choose to build this roster. It might finally be time to think about fit first since both Isaac and Jackson possess immense potential at the NBA’s most important position. The Sixers have a chance to build a massive lineup that will make most others look miniature without sacrificing speed and quickness, a small-ball unit of big men with guard skills. For as fantastic as the Sixers were on defense with Embiid and Covington on the court this past year, they could be downright terrifying with Isaac in the mix going forward. Since Fultz and Ball are all but locked into 1-2, Philly is essentially on the clock.
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