Season 2, Episode 13- Reflections

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

Highlight: Orlando Magic
Lowlight: Philadelphia 76ers
Random Stat: Kristaps Porziņģis nearing the NBA record for most games of 3+ triples and 3+ blocks
Game of the Week: Houston Rockets @ Denver Nuggets

"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, Jan. 13, 2025

Chapters

• 0:15 Introduction
• 1:01 Overview of the NBA this Week
• 3:57 Highlight
• 5:33 Lowlight
• 7:24 Random Stat
• 9:02 Game of the Week
• 10:17 Conclusion

Transcript

Introduction: Hello everybody, and welcome to episode #48 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: As the Pacific Palisades fires rage in Los Angeles, it has affected the NBA, and other sports, in numerous ways. Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr lost his childhood home. L.A. Lakers head coach JJ Redick lost his rental home. And Kawhi Leonard, who just returned to the Clippers, temporarily left the team to check with his family after they were forced to evacuate. Not only is this affecting lives, but it has an effect on games. The Hornets-Lakers game on Thursday and Spurs-Lakers on Saturday were postponed. The Hornets-Clippers game on Saturday was moved. In the NHL, the Kings-Flames game on Wednesday was postponed. The NFL didn’t take chances either. On Thursday, right before the playoffs, the Rams-Vikings Wild Card game was moved to the Arizona Cardinals’ State Farm Stadium in Glendale. Hopefully, these fires are extinguished soon, and everyone involved in this tragedy stays safe.

What a turn of events for a major project! After some convincing from NBA commissioner Adam Silver, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, and Comcast President Brian Roberts, the 76ers are staying in South Philly! As we’ve mentioned, the 76ers wanted to build a new arena near Chinatown called 76 Place at Market East. The city council recently approved it, despite many people objecting. Now, the project is down the toilet. The 76ers will now partner 50-50 with Comcast Spectacor to build a new arena in South Philadelphia by 2031. It seemed like the Chinatown arena would happen. There were rumors of potentially moving to Camden, New Jersey (right over the Delaware River from Philadelphia). Back to the drawing board it is.

Lastly, it seems like a Jimmy Butler trade option has hit a road bump. As we’ve discussed, the Miami Heat star wants out of Miami. A possible trade option is to send him to Phoenix for Bradley Beal so Butler can team up with Devin Booker and Kevin Durant. There’s one problem: Beal has a no-trade clause. That means he can reject a trade offer if he doesn’t want to go there. As of this point, Beal and his agent have had no talks regarding waiving the no-trade clause. As Beal said in a postgame interview the other day, he holds all of the cards if Phoenix’s front office approached him about a deal. And he’s right. The Feb. 6 trade deadline is rapidly approaching, so we’ll see if a Butler trade can pull through.

This episode is entitled "Reflections."

So, who’s raising eyebrows at the moment?

Highlight: Reinforcement is coming at the right time for the Orlando Magic. And that’s an understatement. The Magic are 23-18 and fourth in the Eastern Conference. The good news for Orlando is that superstar Paolo Banchero returned on Friday against Milwaukee after a 34-game absence. He was dealing with a torn right oblique. Banchero dropped 34 points on five triples in his return. Franz Wagner is also out with a torn right oblique. Jalen Suggs is out indefinitely with a lower back strain. But, Banchero’s return is better than nothing. Banchero is averaging 28.4 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game. Orlando’s main focus right now is making themselves stand out in the East. Everyone is tough in the West. In the East, it’s usually been top-heavy. Head coach Jamahl Mosley has an array of youth at his disposal in Wagner and Suggs’ absence, like Cole Anthony, Anthony Black, and rookie Tristan da Silva. While it might be hard for this young group to gain serious ground in the conference with their injuries, it’ll be good for the rest of the team to get reps in. And Banchero will keep them in games. That’s for sure. Their next game is on Wednesday, Jan. 15 at 8 p.m. They will be in Milwaukee to face the Bucks.

Lowlight: How could a team with so much optimism heading into October be so underwhelming here in early January? That’s the Philadelphia 76ers in a nutshell. The 76ers are 15-22 and 11th in the East. It would be beating a dead horse to talk about everything they’ve been through. Joel Embiid’s beef with reporter Marcus Hayes, injuries to Embiid, Paul George, Tyrese Maxey, and Jared McCain (who’s out for the season by the way), Maxey calling out Embiid for being late to team activities, etc. Embiid is the star of the town, and he’s played in 13 of 37 possible games this season. He’s averaging 24.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game. Maxey is putting up 25.8 points, 5.8 assists, and 2.1 steals per night (the steals average is second in the NBA behind Atlanta’s Dyson Daniels). It’s a shame that the team that’s used “Trust the Process” as a rallying cry has ran in circles since Embiid was drafted. I know that fans want the head coach fired every time a team loses, but it’s not Nick Nurse’s fault here. The players just need to be more available and put in more effort. And to think I had this team as #4 in my Power Rankings Predictions! Their next game is tomorrow, Tuesday, Jan. 14 at 7 p.m. They will host the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Random Stat: Plain and simple, you can’t be a great basketball player unless you play offense and defense. This might be easier for the taller ones. Boston Celtics big man Kristaps Porziņģis is one game away from tying the NBA record for the most games with at least three three-pointers and three blocks. Milwaukee Bucks big man Brook Lopez holds the record with 45. The others in the top five? Kevin Durant, Myles Turner, and Dirk Nowitzki. Porziņģis, Lopez, Durant, and Turner are all current players. Nowitzki retired in 2019. Not a bad list to be on! Despite Porziņģis having injury issues throughout his career, even as recent as this season, he’s still a dangerous player to game plan against. Regarding this particular stat, his career averages are 36% from downtown and 1.8 blocks. What makes it crazier is that Porziņģis has range. Not like “barely across the three-point line.” I mean a few feet back from the three-point line. And don’t even think about attempting a layup against him because you’re either going to miss, or it’s getting rejected. This is what helped Boston claim the NBA title last season. He didn’t play the majority of the playoffs, but he’s a difference-maker on the court. The record should fall any day now.

Game of the Week: For this week’s “Game of the Week,” let’s do Houston Rockets @ Denver Nuggets. This game is on Wednesday, Jan. 15 at 9 p.m. This should be a great battle between a young team and a championship-proven team. Houston is led by Jalen Green and Alperen Şengün. After a few down years under Stephen Silas and growing under Ime Udoka, Udoka finally has this team ready to make a respectable playoff run in April. Jabari Smith is out for a while, but they’ll be fine. Denver is a threat to any team. However, even though they have the NBA’s best player, Nikola Jokić, the Nuggets are a top-heavy team. Head coach Mike Malone had an interesting response to a reporter’s recent question of when Jokić is on the bench resting: “I pray.” Such confidence in your bench unit! Aaron Gordon just returned from injury, and Russell Westbrook has filled in nicely. Give me the Rockets 118-113.

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!