Southeast Notes: Wizards, Magic, Jonathan Isaac, Heat

Wizards

Don’t look now, but the Wizards have won five straight.

If you remember, this comes after they had suffered through a 10-game losing streak that started in November and lasted into December. But that seems like a distant memory now.

“By not overreacting, now we’re back and we’re putting some wins together,” forward Kristaps Porzingis told reporters. “We have some pretty good rhythm.”

• Star guard Bradley Beal missed Sunday’s win over the Bucks with a sore hamstring. The teams meet again Tuesday in Milwaukee, and Beal’s status may not be known until just about tipoff. 

Magic

Forward Jonathan Isaac was a full participant at Magic practice on Monday, coach Jamahl Mosley said, via Khobi Price of the Orlando Sentinel.

Isaac, 25, is 6-foot-10 and last played in an actual game in the 2020 Disney bubble, where he suffered a torn ACL. He was assigned to the Lakeland Magic of the G League last month for the purpose of rehab.

• The Magic are hoping the returns of Isaac and guard Jalen Suggs will help to change their fortunes in 2023, wrote Jeremy Brener of SI.com.

Heat

Guard Victor Oladipo indicated it will likely take time to be his full self on the court as he continues to recover and get up to speed after multiple injuries over the past few seasons.

“I just got to build on this and just keep getting better,” Oladipo said, via Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “It’s not always going to be perfect, but my mindset can be, for sure.”

• Coach Erik Spoelstra added that the Heat will be patient with Oladipo. “We love being on this journey with him and ultimately I think it will still take 40 or 50 games for him to get fully in rhythm,” Spoelstra said, via Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald.
• Power forward Bam Adebayo is becoming more of a vocal leader, as relayed in this piece from Shandel Richardson of SI.com.