Season 2, Episode 9- A Long-Awaited Return

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

Highlight: Oklahoma City Thunder
Lowlight: Portland Trail Blazers
Random Stat: Chris Paul is second all-time in career assists
Game of the Week: New York Knicks @ Minnesota Timberwolves

"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. 16, 2024

Chapters

• 0:15 Introduction
• 1:01 Overview of the NBA this Week
• 3:38 Highlight
• 5:14 Lowlight
• 6:50 Random Stat
• 8:37 Game of the Week
• 9:55 Conclusion

Transcript

Introduction: Hello everybody, and welcome to episode #44 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: With Christmas in the air, two teams are already in the giving spirit. The Brooklyn Nets are trading Dennis Schröder and a second-round pick to the Golden State Warriors for De’Anthony Melton and three second-round picks. Schröder is having one of his better seasons in his career, averaging 18.4 points per game and career-highs with 6.6 assists and 38.7% from downtown. He’ll fit in nicely with Steph Curry. Meanwhile, Melton had season-ending surgery for a partially-torn ACL, so this can be seen as a cap space move for Brooklyn. And with the one-year deal Melton signed with Golden State, he’ll be a free agent over the summer.

Are things looking to shake up in the NBA? Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler has been the subject of trade rumors in the last week or so. NBA insider Shams Charania said the Heat are open to a deal that fits them, and Butler and his agent have some teams in mind. These teams include the Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, Golden State Warriors, and the Phoenix Suns. Adding Butler next to Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving in Dallas would be fun. He’d be a veteran presence on the young Rockets. Butler to Golden State is probably out after the Schröder deal. And Phoenix is out of assets, and most likely money, with Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal. It’s weird because Butler’s agent, Bernard Lee, vehemently denied these rumors. Charania stood by his reporting, though. Butler has a player option for next season, so he could always decline that and enter free agency. However, at 35 years old, he’ll probably opt-in, regardless of when/if he gets dealt.

Finally, 76ers star rookie Jared McCain will undergo surgery for a torn meniscus and is out indefinitely. McCain has been one of the lone bright spots on the 76ers this season, which we’ve discussed in detail. Joel Embiid slugging a reporter. Tyrese Maxey calling out Embiid for being late to everything. Injuries to Embiid, Maxey, Paul George, and McCain. It’s Murphy’s Law this season in Philadelphia: what can go wrong, will go wrong. Hopefully, McCain’s injury isn’t season-ending.

This episode is entitled "A Long-Awaited Return."

So, who’s raising eyebrows at the moment?

Highlight: In the words of the rock band AC/DC, you could say the NBA is…Thunderstruck. Thank you, I’ll be here all day. The Oklahoma City Thunder are 20-5, atop the Western Conference, and they’re on a five-game winning streak. They even have the third-best record in the league (behind Boston and Cleveland). The Thunder went into the offseason and got busy after losing to Dallas in six in the Western Conference Semifinals. By trading for Bulls guard Alex Caruso and stealing Isaiah Hartenstein away from the Knicks, they beefed up their defense and rebounding. The Thunder’s best player is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He averages 30.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 1.9 steals, and one block per contest. Oklahoma City’s star-studded trio, who are 26 years old or younger, includes SGA, Jalen “J-Dub” Williams, and Chet Holmgren. Lu Dort and Cason Wallace are additional, dangerous pieces. The Thunder are in a prime position to make a deep playoff run again. The only ones stopping them will probably be themselves. After all, it’s a long way to the top! (Yes, my puns are bad). Their next game is tomorrow, Tuesday, Dec. 17 at 8:30 p.m. They will take on the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Lowlight: Will the Portland Trail Blazers ever learn that consistency comes in the form of positive and negative? Like, they’re allowed to be good eventually? The Blazers are 8-18, 13th in the West, and sporting a six-game losing streak. Portland is in the midst of a long rebuild, now that former franchise cornerstone Damian Lillard is in his second year in Milwaukee. Under previous head coach Terry Stotts, Portland was a perennial playoff team. Under Chauncey Billups…not so much. Anfernee Simons leads the team with 17.2 points per night. But, Scoot Henderson was Portland’s top draft choice third overall in 2023. Henderson gives the Blazers 10.8 points and a team-high 5.1 assists per game off the bench. Shaedon Sharpe, Toumani Camara, and rookie Donovan Clingan are other players to watch out for in the rotation. While the Western Conference is loaded with elite teams and talent, Portland hasn’t been trying to take that next step. There’s a reason why Lillard left after so many years of being loyal. And is Henderson going to step into that “star player” role? Coming off the bench as a top-three pick in year two usually isn’t a team’s, or player’s, plan. At least Portland is stacking their roster with young talent. Their next game is on Thursday, Dec. 19 at 10 p.m. They will host the Denver Nuggets.

Random Stat: With 12,112 career assists, Chris Paul is now second all-time in NBA history in assists, only trailing behind the 15,806 dimes by legendary Utah Jazz guard John Stockton. Paul moved ahead of Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd last Sunday, Dec. 8 against the Pelicans. Paul was even given a game ball and plaque with the names of every teammate he ever assisted on his way to cementing himself as second all-time! This milestone proves two things. First, what an impressive career Paul has had. Second, no one is ever catching Stockton’s record. Paul has averaged 9.3 assists per year through 20 seasons (with a career-high of 11.6), compared to Stockton’s 10.5 assists average through 19 seasons (with an NBA record of 14.5). Even if Paul played 82 games for the next four seasons averaging 10 assists per game, he’d still be well short of Stockton! And CP3 hasn’t played 82 games since 2014-15. Paul said the other day that he’s only playing for another season or two. Regardless of who’s on top, what’s a better way to finish out a legendary career than playing alongside Victor Wembanyama? Paul has had plenty of great teammates over the years, which has led to plenty of great highlights and dimes. He certainly has a spot reserved for him in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Game of the Week: For this week’s “Game of the Week,” let’s do New York Knicks @ Minnesota Timberwolves. This game is on Thursday, Dec. 19 at 9:30 p.m. It also happens to be Karl-Anthony Towns’ return to Minnesota. K.A.T., the first pick in the 2015 NBA draft, started every game played across nine seasons in a Timberwolves uniform: 573 regular season games, 32 playoff games, and three play-in tournament games. He helped Minnesota advance to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2004! Like we discussed in last week’s “Highlight,” Towns is having a solid year for the Knicks. The main two guys in the Towns trade were Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo. DiVicenzo is having a down year compared to last year. Randle is at about his averages. The Timberwolves without K.A.T. in general have been questionable. But, I have no doubt that the Minnesota faithful will greet their former star with thunderous applause. I’ll side with the Knicks 118-115.

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!