Season 2, Episode 5- With Goals in Mind

In this week's episode of "Diehlman at Halftime," I discuss:

Highlight: Houston Rockets
Lowlight: Toronto Raptors
Random Stat: De'Aaron Fox drops 109 points in 24 hours
Game of the Week: Cleveland Cavaliers @ Boston Celtics

"Aurora" interlude music written by Jeff Kaale
https://uppbeat.io/t/jeff-kaale/aurora
License code: HJ6W88QKKUB00FNS

Intro/outro written by Larry Diehlman

Release date: Monday, Nov. 18, 2024

Chapters

• 0:15 Introduction
• 1:00 Overview of the NBA this Week
• 3:12 Highlight
• 4:44 Lowlight
• 6:31 Random Stat
• 8:09 Game of the Week
• 9:27 Conclusion

Transcript

Introduction: Hello everybody, and welcome to episode #40 of “Diehlman at Halftime,” the NBA podcast that tops all others! I’m your host, Larry Diehlman. If you’re joining us for the first time, welcome abroad. And if you’ve been a loyal listener, welcome back! We have much to get to today and not a lot of time to do it. We have five sections that we’ll get into: a general overview of the NBA this week, and our usual “Highlight, Lowlight, Random Stat, and Game of the Week.”

Overview of the NBA this Week: A few weeks back, we learned that San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich had a medical episode, and that assistant coach Mitch Johnson would step in as acting head coach. This week, it was revealed that Popovich had a mild stroke. The legendary coach, nicknamed “Pop,” is 75 years old (and soon to be 76). The Spurs said Pop is in a rehab program and is expected to make a full recovery. NBA insider Shams Charania added that Johnson would be the interim coach “for the foreseeable extended future.” San Antonio is not expected to be a contender this year, so it’s not like they have to rush Pop back in a hurry. And rushing him back would be wrong anyway. Plus, he’s 75. Give the man a breather. We hope Pop makes a full recovery and is back on the court soon.

Also, the NBA announced that “Inside the NBA,” the popular pregame, halftime, and postgame show featuring Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, and Kenny “The Jet” Smith, will have a new home next year. It will go from its current home, TNT, to ESPN and ABC. TNT will still produce the show, and it’ll still be broadcasted from Atlanta. ESPN/ABC, Comcast, and Amazon will air the NBA’s nationally-televised games starting next year through the 2035-36 season. The league has had games on TNT since 1988, but the relationship with TNT goes back to 1984.

This episode is entitled "With Goals in Mind."

So, who’s raising eyebrows at the moment?

Highlight: After a few seasons of recovery after James Harden was traded, the Houston Rockets look to be on the path to returning as a contender. The Rockets are 10-4, on a five-game winning streak, and third in the Western Conference. As we discussed last year, Houston hired Ime Udoka as head coach, and the Rockets beefed up in free agency. This year, not only are they continuing to grow, but they drafted Reed Sheppard out of Kentucky with the third overall pick. Jalen Green is one of the faces of Houston's franchise, along with center Alperen Şengün. Green is averaging 19.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game. Şengün is a double-double machine with 17.5 points and 11.4 rebounds every night, but his passing ability is what makes him thrive. Şengün has recorded two straight triple-doubles this week. He’s averaged about four or five assists per game over the last couple of seasons. Jabari Smith, Amen Thompson, and Tari Eason are all young faces on the Rockets that will continue to give opponents problems. I’m interested to see how far they can go this season. As of now, it could be far. Their next game is tonight, Monday, Nov. 18 at 8 p.m. They will be in Milwaukee to face the Bucks.

Lowlight: One NBA team in particular is currently stinking it up…and it’s not a U.S. based team. Look to the one in Canada. The Toronto Raptors are 2-12, last in the East, on a seven-game losing streak, and they possess the NBA’s worst record. Injuries are keeping this team from their true potential (whatever that potential is). The trio of Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley, and R.J. Barrett haven’t played together yet this season. Barnes is the team’s franchise player. In four games thus far, Barnes is averaging 19.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, six assists, and two steals per game. He even earned his first All-Star nod last season. Barrett, a Toronto native, and Quickley were acquired from the Knicks last year for O.G. Anunoby. Young players like Gradey Dick and Ochai Agbaji are steadily improving. Even Davion Mitchell, who was acquired from Sacramento in the offseason, is giving them a career-best six assists per game as he shuttles back and forth between the starting five and the bench. Obviously, Toronto needs to get their injury problems resolved as soon as possible. And even though they have interesting pieces, I don’t think they have enough to make a serious push in the play-in tournament. The Raptors’ youth factor will be fun in the meantime. Their next game is tonight, Monday, Nov. 18 at 7:30 p.m. They will host the Indiana Pacers.

Random Stat: Being a great basketball player means you have to be versatile in areas like playmaking and defense. However, scoring a ton of points is also fun. On Friday and Saturday, Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox scored 109 points in 24 hours! This is now the Kings’ franchise record for most points in consecutive games. Fox replaces DeMarcus Cousins, who had 104 in two games in Jan. 2016. Fox dropped a career-high 60 points against Minnesota on Friday and 49 points against Utah on Saturday. The only other players to score that many points in back-to-back games: Kobe Bryant in 2007, and Wilt Chamberlain. Chamberlain did it 15 times! As I’ve said time and time again, when you do something that was done by “Wilt the Stilt,” you’re doing something right. By the way, Fox did this without DeMar DeRozan and Malik Monk suiting up in either contest. Fox has always been one of the more crafty guards in the league, and his speed makes him hard to stop. He’s averaging 28.9 points per game so far, which would be his career-best for a season if it continued. With Fox averaging 54.5 points per game over this two-game span, obviously that’s not sustainable. Although, you can’t say the fans aren’t enjoying watching this.

Game of the Week: For this week’s “Game of the Week,” I’m going with Cleveland Cavaliers @ Boston Celtics. This game is on Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m., and it also qualifies as an in-season tournament game. Remember, the Cavs were our “Highlight” just two weeks ago. They’ve been impressive, but a win over Boston on the road would really cement them as a threat this season. Additionally, Boston hasn’t technically been at full strength. Kristaps Porziņģis, one of their two prized acquisitions last year outside of Jrue Holiday, should make his season debut in December. Porziņģis is recovering from a foot injury suffered in the NBA Finals. Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said he’s “getting there.” For now, Cleveland’s young squad is scorching expectations. Boston is a tough challenge for anyone. I think the Celtics will play spoiler in this matchup and hand Cleveland their first loss this season. Give me Boston 109-105.

Conclusion: Well, that’s all the time we have for today. If you haven’t already, make sure to follow me on social media. I have two X (or Twitter) accounts and two Instagram accounts. The podcast accounts are under @Diehlman_NBA for both X and Instagram. My personal X account is @LarryDiehlman18, and my personal Instagram is @mr_sports18. They’re also in the description on Buzzsprout, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. And don’t forget to spread the word about “Diehlman at Halftime!” See you next time, fellow hoops fans!