900 days later, Jonathan Isaac is finally ready to bounce back with the Orlando Magic

Jonathan Isaac went through hell and back, as he was injured for over two years and a half after breaking his leg in a game between Orlando and Sacramento. 900 days later, he is officially listed to play an NBA match tonight against the Celtics!

Report: Magic's Jonathan Isaac to Play vs. Celtics in Return 2+ Years After Injury https://t.co/xVBk5jXlJ6 << Info Here pic.twitter.com/4pPb4NaG72

— NBA Now (@_NBANow) January 23, 2023

It’s finally imminent. Journalist Shams Charania said it’s in Magics’ plans to see Jonathan Isaac’s return for the team tonight against Boston, as Orlando have already announced he is listed to play. He tore his ACL and a subsequent hamstring issue on the last time he played in the NBA back in August 2020.

Patience, doubts, new problems, and more visits to the operating room… those were Isaac’s last two years. He didn’t start to see the light at the end of the tunnel until this past November, when he was finally able to do some excercise drills at the gym and play an ocassional five against five in training. Then, a couple of weeks ago, he disputed his first official game with the Lakeland Magic, Orlando’s affiliate team in the G-League.

After two games in the G-League, Isaac averaged 15.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, just enough to prove he was worthy of returning to the NBA squad. Four days ago, on January 19th, he dropped 18 points in under 22 minutes coming off the bench, as you can see his highlights in the link below:

Isaac suffered his injury at a moment when he was starting to shine and prove to be a menace facing any team in the league. With unusual athletic skills for a six-foot-ten player, he fits in perfectly as a player with a profile to dominate modern basketball on both sides of the court. His stats averaged 11.9 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game, after three seasons in the NBA.

His absence hit deep in the Orlando camp, as he signed a four-year-extension for 64 million dollars as he recovered from injury. Isaac hasn’t played a single minute for his team under this new contract. That just goes to show how valuable he is for his squad!

Bets for tonight in Florida

A few of our favorite sport betting sites consider the Magic to possess one of the lowest probabilites in the league to classify to Playoffs and win the NBA title. As for tonight’s game, BetOnline establishes the Celtics as the preferred choice to win at a -8 with a -105 juice, whereas the Magic are the obvious underdogs at a +8 with a -115 juice. The over/under for the game is 229 1/2.

Orlando stand 13th in the East with a 17-29 record, about to face with the league’s best team in the Amway Center in Florida.

The Magic will also play again in Orlando against the Indiana Pacers (rank 9th with 23-25) this week on January 25th (6:00pm CST), as they clash in the lower end of the Eastern Conference’s table.