As Jonathan Isaac fumbled around with the special apparatuses he has been given to help him get through his latest injury, he balked at help offered from a bystander.
“These are things you just have to do yourself,” Isaac said Wednesday.
He was in the Magic locker room before his teammates hosted Oklahoma City at Amway Center, a large knee brace in hand, along with a giant, special-length set of crutches. They need to be long for a nearly 7-foot NBA forward.
The third-year player has missed the past 11 games, counting Wednesday, and he is out indefinitely with an unusual injury labeled as a left knee posterolateral corner tear and medial bone contusion. It’s been simplified to a sprained knee in layman’s terms, and he’s likley to miss at least two months.
No matter what it’s called, the injury has been a bit of a surprise after it appeared he would be able to bounce back after incurring the issue at Washington on New Year’s Day. Even though he was carted off the court on a stretcher that day, he was able to walk and put pressure on his leg after the game.
“I didn’t know what to expect, but being able to walk on it and all that, kind of had me in a place where I was like, ‘OK, this is not going to be something where I’m going to miss an extended amount of time,” Isaac said. “It just turns out that’s how it’s going to be for a while, so … now it feels good. I’m in a brace and on crutches, so it’s all good.”
Isaac, who has endured several bouts with injuries during his short Magic career, still does not let the injury and time missed get to him. He remains upbeat and optimistic about his rehabilitation, which is slow going for now.
“Time is still up in the air. I’m just worried about getting it together and as we continue with the process, they’ll keep me informed. Right now it’s just about letting it heal,” Isaac said. “I’m not frustrated. I want to play, and I want to be out there for my team, helping my team win, but I trust God’s plan for my life and that’s all I can do. It’s His plan above mine and I just want to trust that and continue to move forward with what He has for me.”
Isaac was enjoying the best season of his young career so far. In 32 games, he has averaged 12 points and seven rebounds, as well as been among the league leaders in blocked shots, currently ranking fourth with 2.4 blocks per game.
Johnson a new father
Magic reserve forward B.J. Johnson and his girlfriend Asia Baker became the proud parents of a baby girl on Monday. Johnson flew home from the Magic road trip to be with mom and arrived just in time to witness the birth of Indi Jade Johnson (6 pounds, 9 ounces, 20 inches).
“It was definitely something I didn’t know how to deal with at the time,” Johnson said. “I was in the room for the whole thing. I think I did pretty good for the first time.”
Ms. Baker was in the hospital for about five hours before the birth of Indi Jade, so it was a rather short labor.
“She was excited. We expected it to be like an all-day thing,” Johnson said. “She got to the hospital about 1 and the baby was born at 5.”
Now he’s learning how to cope with being daddy.
“The first night was OK, more like cure cries, but yesterday, it was more like a full-on baby cry,” Johnson laughed. “No sleep yesterday.”
