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Isolation plays can be some of the most exciting possessions employed by any NBA offense.

Are they the most effective? Of course not, which is why many defenses are structured to force extra passes and compel the opposition into attempting an isolation attack. But they're still thrilling, whether a smaller player is dazzling with his dribbles before attacking the hoop or a bigger man is backing his way toward the basket before hitting a turnaround jumper.

Some excel in these one-on-one situations, while others struggle so excessively that they shouldn't ever be granted another isolation opportunity. It's the first group with which we're concerned today, and we're not leaning on reputations. Only what's happened in 2017-18 matters, allowing us to remain entirely objective.

We'll use Kyrie Irving as an example, since last year's premier isolation player has been thoroughly average—in this play type only, not overall—during his first go-round with the Boston Celtics. As a result, he will not be appearing in this countdown.

Heading into games on Nov. 20, 296 different players had embarked upon at least one isolation endeavor during the current season. They'd combined to score 3,616 points on 3,971 possessions—a lackluster 0.911 points per possession that indicates why this play type should so often be avoided by all but the league's most lethal scorers.

Irving, meanwhile, had produced 60 points on 62 isolation attempts—0.968 points per possession. A league-average isolation threat would've theoretically put up 56.48 points with the same workload as the C's floor general, so Irving's production is marginally positive.

A score of 3.52—his actual points minus the hypothetical points of the league-average player—is nothing to be ashamed of; it's just not quite enough to sneak into the top 10. In fact, it pushes Irving down to No. 30, and that's a placement he'll surely leave in the dust as the sample grows larger and he moves closer to last year's league-leading mark of 87.91.