Season 2, Episode 8- Go Big or Go Home

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

Highlight: New York Knicks
Lowlight: Washington Wizards
Random Stat: Nikola Jokić nearly has 60-point triple-double in loss to Wizards
Game of the Week: Orlando Magic @ Milwaukee Bucks

Also, listen to the perspective of our featured guest, Lloyd Wilson! (Follow him on Twitter @lwilson013 and Instagram at @lloydwil13).

"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, Dec. 9, 2024

Chapters

• 0:16 Introduction
• 1:01 Overview of the NBA this Week
• 3:06 Highlight
• 4:57 Lloyd Wilson Interview
• 29:53 Lowlight
• 31:39 Random Stat
• 33:26 Game of the Week
• 34:38 Conclusion

Transcript

**NOTE: Full episode transcript is below except the interview**

Introduction: Hello everybody, and welcome to episode #43 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 race for the second-annual NBA Cup is heating up. We’re down to the final eight teams in the tournament. From the East, it’ll be the Milwaukee Bucks vs. the Orlando Magic and the New York Knicks vs. the Atlanta Hawks in the Quarterfinals. For the West, it’ll be the Oklahoma City Thunder vs. the Dallas Mavericks and the Houston Rockets vs. the Golden State Warriors. The Quarterfinals will be this week on Tuesday, Dec. 10 and Wednesday the 11th. The Semifinals will be on Saturday the 14th. A champion will be crowned next Tuesday, Dec. 17. My way-too-early prediction for the NBA Cup Finals is Rockets over Knicks 112-110.

Former All-Star Paul Millsap has officially retired. Millsap, a late second round pick in 2006, spent most of his career with the Utah Jazz before going to the Hawks, Nuggets, Nets, and 76ers. For the four years Millsap was in Atlanta, he was an All-Star each season. His other accolades include All-Rookie Second Team and All-Defensive Second Team. Millsap is one of eight players to record 500 triples, 1,000 blocks, and 1,000 steals. With Millsap’s help, the Hawks won a franchise-record 60 games and made the Eastern Conference Finals in 2015.

Lastly, Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton, coming off double ankle surgery in the offseason, made his return on Friday against Boston. The 33-year-old has been medically cleared for about a month, but he needed more time to be physically ready to play. Middleton is coming back at a time where the Bucks were 11-10 through 21 games. Milwaukee started the year in a free fall before bouncing back in recent games.

This episode is entitled "Go Big or Go Home."

So, who’s raising eyebrows at the moment?

Highlight: For years, the New York Knicks have either been a joke, or they have simply underperformed. This season, this could be one of their chances to make some serious noise. The Knicks are 14-9 and fourth in the Eastern Conference. As we discussed a moment ago, New York also made the in-season tournament Quarterfinals. Jalen Brunson is the star at Madison Square Garden, averaging 25.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 7.7 assists per game. By acquiring Mikal Bridges from Brooklyn and Karl-Anthony Towns from Minnesota, the front office is showing the league they’re not messing around. Bridges is giving the Knicks about 17 points per night and great defense. Towns is putting up 25.2 points, as well as career-highs with 13.2 rebounds and 45% from three-point range. You can’t forget about guys like OG Anunoby, Josh Hart, and Miles “Deuce” McBride. Sacrificing Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to Minnesota stung. But, outside of the Celtics, the Knicks might be one of the teams to represent the East in the Finals in June. With most of the other New York teams being a mess, at least the Knicks have potential. Their next game is tonight, Monday, Dec. 9 at 7:30 p.m. They will be in Toronto to face the Raptors.

Interview Segue: To get more insight into our “Highlight” this week, we have our second guest of season two on “Diehlman at Halftime.” Let’s get into it!

Lloyd Wilson Interview

Lowlight: You might remember last year when Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma said “don’t be that team,” regarding teams avoiding losses to the Pistons, who were in the midst of their 28-game losing streak? He might’ve been the wrong person on the wrong team to say that. The Wizards are 3-19, the worst team in the NBA, and they just snapped a 16-game losing streak! You heard me correctly. Even when the Pistons beat the Wizards last month, Detroit’s final score graphic had Kuzma’s quote on there. Former Warrior Jordan Poole, who’s in his second season in the nation’s capital, leads the team with 20.4 points, five assists, and 1.6 steals per game. Kuzma is good for about 16 points and six rebounds. Washington’s offseason highlight was drafting Alex Sarr second overall in the draft. He was our second “Random Stat” of the season for his defensive skills. The Wizards’ core also includes Malcolm Brogdon, Bilal Coulibaly, and rookie Carlton “Bub” Carrington. This team hasn’t been good since the “good ‘ole days” of the John Wall and Bradley Beal tandem. Wall is a free agent. Beal is in Phoenix. There’s a difference between developing young talent and hardcore losing like Washington is doing. Strap in, Wizards fans. You’re in it for the long haul. Their next game is on Friday, Dec. 13 at 7 p.m. They will travel to Cleveland to take on the Cavaliers.

Random Stat: I just said in the “Lowlight” section that the Wizards snapped their 16-game losing streak. Guess to whom? The Denver Nuggets! As in, the team that employs Nikola Jokić. The three-time MVP nearly had a 60-point triple-double in Washington, and Denver still lost! Jokić had 56 points (22/38 shooting), 16 rebounds, and eight assists…and they lost by nine. Former Wizard Russell Westbrook had seven points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists. So, two guys nearly had triple-doubles?! On the winning Washington end, Jordan Poole had 39 points on a career-high nine triples, as well as eight assists. Jonas Valančiūnas had 20 points and 12 rebounds. Stat lines like this in a loss point to two things: one, is anyone else going to step up? Two, where’s the defense? Wendy’s had a famous commercial in the 80s about “Where’s the beef?” For the Nuggets, where’s the defense? On a positive note, it also shows how valuable Jokić is to Denver. There’s a reason this man is considered the best player in the NBA by most media members, players, and fans. His scoring ability, in addition to his uncanny passing skills as a center, makes him unstoppable. However, the Nuggets can’t afford for Jokić to carry this hard every game. With Denver in the middle of the Western Conference standings, others need to ease the burden.

Game of the Week: For this week’s “Game of the Week,” let’s do Orlando Magic @ Milwaukee Bucks. This game is on Tuesday, Dec. 10 at 7 p.m., and it’ll be one of the four in-season tournament Quarterfinals matchups. Orlando and Milwaukee have been heading in opposite directions recently. The Bucks, who started 2-8, had a seven-game winning streak snapped last week. And we said earlier they got Khris Middleton back. Meanwhile, despite a hot start for the Magic, both Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner are out indefinitely due to the same injury (a torn right oblique)! Banchero and Wagner’s absences will be tough to deal with. Wagner has averaged about 28 points per game in his last nine games. It’ll be interesting to see how the Magic’s rotation steps up while their stars recover. If this was an Orlando home game, I might’ve given them the advantage, since they’re 10-0 in Florida. However, give me the Bucks 120-109.

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 thank you to Lloyd Wilson for being our guest this week on the podcast. Remember, you can follow him on Twitter @lwilson013 and Instagram @lloydwil13. And don’t forget to spread the word about “Diehlman at Halftime!” See you next time, fellow hoops fans!