Season 2, Episode 6- Required Substitutions

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

Highlight: L.A. Clippers
Lowlight: Sacramento Kings
Random Stat: Dyson Daniels leads the league in steals/game
Game of the Week: Golden State Warriors @ Phoenix Suns

"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. 25, 2024

Chapters

• 0:15 Introduction
• 1:00 Overview of the NBA this Week
• 3:34 Highlight
• 5:16 Lowlight
• 7:01 Random Stat
• 8:37 Game of the Week
• 9:50 Conclusion

Transcript

Introduction: Hello everybody, and welcome to episode #41 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: The NBA is attempting to make All-Star Weekend more “watchable.” The league announced its move to a pickup-style tournament format. There will be two semifinal games played up to 40 points. The final will be up to 25 points. With last year’s All-Star Game having a final score of 211-186, it truly showed the lack of effort from players, especially on the defensive end. Damian Lillard, for instance, was pulling up from half court…multiple times! The All-Star Game is on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025 at Chase Center in San Francisco.

Oh boy, the Philadelphia 76ers’ season continues its free fall! We’ve already discussed Joel Embiid slugging a reporter for a story the reporter wrote, which referenced Embiid’s late brother. Injuries with Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Paul George have prevented the team from building chemistry and rhythm. The 76ers are in the basement of the Eastern Conference. Now, there was a report that said the team held an hour-long team meeting after their loss to Miami last Monday, Nov. 18. Basically, Maxey challenged Embiid to be more on time because it impacts everyone on the team. Embiid took the challenge to heart, but he said he’s “…sometimes confused about what the 76ers are attempting to execute on the court.” I’m sorry, what? Hopefully, that meeting sparked something in all involved. The 76ers have looked terrible to start the season.

Finally, the Boston Celtics are aiming to be under completely new ownership by 2028. Current owner Wyc Grousbeck said he and his family will continue to govern the Celtics for another three years, but he said there’s been plenty of interest from buyers. The current ownership group announced plans to sell their stake just days after Boston claimed their 18th championship back in June. A majority stake is expected to sell within the coming months, and the remaining stake will go in 2028. Grousbeck has led the Celtics since 2002.

This episode is entitled "Required Substitutions."

 So, who’s raising eyebrows at the moment?

Highlight: While free agency and the draft allow teams to strengthen, addition by subtraction can also help. The L.A. Clippers followed the latter option. The Clippers are 11-7, 5th in the Western Conference, and on a five-game winning streak. The Paul George and Kawhi Leonard experiment concluded last season, with George heading to Philadelphia. More Leonard injuries have caused him to not even make his season debut yet. But, James Harden is keeping L.A. afloat. Harden is averaging 20.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, 8.7 assists, and 1.6 steals per night. And this is a guy who’s been forcing his way off teams lately (Houston, Brooklyn, and Philadelphia). Although Norman Powell has always been a scorer, he’s averaging a career-high 23.3 points. Oh, and he’s the one who said losing George was addition by subtraction! This was regarding allowing other players to step up more. With George being injured with the 76ers, Powell’s not wrong. Players like Ivica Zubac, Amir Coffey and Derrick Jones Jr., who was on Dallas’ Finals team last year, round out L.A.’s rotation. Leonard’s health is always a factor, but he makes a HUGE difference when healthy. Let’s see if they can get out of the first round this year. Their next game is tonight, Monday, Nov. 25 at 7:30 p.m. They will be in Boston to face the Celtics.

Lowlight: Why do teams make a comeback one year and dip right after? The Sacramento Kings are 8-9, 12th in the West, and on a three-game losing streak. Following years of missing the playoffs and underachieving, and after hiring head coach Mike Brown, Sacramento made the postseason in the 2022-23 season. They lost in seven games to Golden State in the first round. The Kings took a step back last year, and it’s repeating so far in 2024-25. Like we discussed last week in our “Random Stat,” De’Aaron Fox is a firecracker. He’s dropping a career-high 28.9 points, as well as 4.9 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and 1.7 steals per game. Domontas Sabonis is a double-double threat with about 20 points and 13 rebounds per game, and he’s a solid passer with 6.5 assists per game. Malik Monk is a legit sixth man. DeMar DeRozan, while on the wrong side of 30 years old, is still a midrange assassin. Keegan Murray and Kevin Huerter cannot be taken lightly either. I thought Sacramento would be climbing back in the Western Conference standings, but this just shows you how strong the conference is. The L.A. teams are rolling, Memphis is recovering from injuries. We’ll see if the Kings are able to truly compete with this current core. Their next game is tonight, Monday, Nov. 25 at 10 p.m. They will host the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Random Stat: What makes the NBA different from previous decades is defensive effort. Whistle-happy refs calling fouls and better offensive players override defense. One Atlanta Hawks player has been bypassing this assumption. Dyson Daniels is leading the league with 3.2 steals per game! The second-highest player is Oklahoma City’s Jalen Williams (nicknamed “J-Dub”) with 2.2 swipes per game. Ever since being sent to Atlanta from New Orleans this offseason in the Dejounte Murray trade package, Daniels has become a full-time starter. He spent two years with the Pelicans, in which last year featured his career-high in steals (1.4 per game). He had a career-high seven steals vs. Detroit on Nov. 8. And, in early November, Daniels had a stretch of four straight games with 15+ points and five or more steals. It was the first time this was done since the 1989-90 season…where Michael Jordan did it. (Look, I’m not saying Daniels is turning into Michael Jordan. It’s a big accomplishment, though). Atlanta’s biggest issue in recent years has been defense, and picking up Daniels in the process might have been a home run. Keeping up this steals per game average across 15 games thus far is impressive. Now if only he could spread his defensive abilities to the rest of the team.

Game of the Week: For this week’s “Game of the Week,” let’s do Golden State Warriors @ Phoenix Suns. This game is on Saturday, Nov. 30 at 9 p.m. Ever since Klay Thompson went to Dallas in free agency, the Warriors have been in cruise control. Steph Curry and Draymond Green are doing their usual things. They’re sitting atop the Western Conference, while Phoenix has slid from earlier in the season. You know what’s weird about Golden State? Every time rapper Kendrick Lamar has released an album, the Warriors have won a championship: 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2022. And he just released an album this weekend. Welp. Meanwhile, the Suns are trying to stop a five-game skid. Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal have been sidelined for at least the past five games each, but they’re aiming to return this week. The head coaching battle of Steve Kerr and Mike Budenholzer should be good too. I’ll side with the Warriors 107-101.

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!