Season 2, Episode 24- Ulterior Motives

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

Highlight: Houston Rockets
Lowlight: Phoenix Suns
Random Stat: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is on a scoring tear
Game of the Week: Sacramento Kings @ Indiana Pacers

"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, March 31, 2025

Chapters

• 0:15 Introduction
• 1:00 Overview of the NBA this Week
• 3:24 Highlight
• 5:01 Lowlight
• 6:42 Random Stat
• 8:24 Game of the Week
• 9:33 Conclusion

Transcript

Introduction: Hello everybody, and welcome to episode #59 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 Memphis Grizzlies made a stunning change on Friday, right before the postseason. Head coach Taylor Jenkins, the winningest coach in franchise history, was fired after just under six seasons. Grizzlies general manager and executive vice president of basketball operations Zach Kleiman took sole responsibility for the decision. No one else had input. At the time of Jenkins’ departure, Memphis was 44-29 and tied for fourth in the Western Conference with the Lakers. His career record with the Grizzlies was 250-214 (53.9%). In the playoffs, the Grizzlies made it the Conference Semifinals once. They missed the playoffs and lost in the first round twice each. Assistant coach Tuomas Iisalo is the interim head coach.

Oh boy, here we go again. Milwaukee Bucks star Damian Lillard will be sidelined indefinitely with deep vein thrombosis in his right calf. He’s on blood-thinning medication, and he’ll undergo regular testing. If deep vein thrombosis sounds familiar, it should. San Antonio Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama was just ruled out for the season with the same thing. Lillard and Wembanyama basically have a blood clot. Thankfully, in these two cases, it was caught early, and there’s plenty of optimism for a full recovery. Milwaukee is currently the sixth seed in the East.

Lastly, the NBA All-Star Weekend mini-tournament format used at last month’s festivities will be scrapped for next season. Commissioner Adam Silver said “We’re not there in terms of creating an All-Star experience that we can be proud of and our players can be proud of.” This is interesting, considering that next year’s All-Star Game will be smack in the middle of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. Both will be aired on NBC, so a USA vs. International idea, which has been discussed, could be in play.

This episode is entitled "Ulterior Motives."

So, who’s raising eyebrows at the moment?

Highlight: Some contending teams struggle to get off the ground, while others skyrocket. The Houston Rockets are the latter (and pardon the pun). The Rockets are 49-26, second in the Western Conference, and on a three-game winning streak. After being literally average last year, in the form of 41-41, this young Houston team is fighting with teams like Denver for top playoff seed positioning. Head coach Ime Udoka has the Rockets looking poised to make some noise in April following his one year in Boston in 2021-22. Jalen Green is the team’s leading scorer, averaging 21.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per night. Alperen Şengün is one of the best centers in the NBA. He’s a double-double threat and possesses a solid passing ability with about five assists per game. Rounding out the Rockets are players like Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith, and Cam Whitmore. Assuming the playoff seeds don’t drastically change in the coming weeks, Houston will most likely get one of the play-in tournament winners as their first-round opponent. That would be a good confidence-booster to start a playoff run. And you would avoid white-hot teams like Oklahoma City for at least a round or two. Their next game is tonight, Monday, March 31 at 10 p.m. They will be in Los Angeles to face the Lakers.

Lowlight: Expectations, expectations. Aren’t they great? When dealing with expectations, the Phoenix Suns... have had issues. The Suns are 35-40, 11th in the West, and on a three-game losing streak. You would think a team with Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal would be making noise by now and not dangling on the fringe of the play-in tournament. Nope! Durant’s arrival a few seasons ago signified a shift in the league in favor of Phoenix. They just haven’t been able to reap the benefits. Durant averages 26.6 points, six rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.2 blocks per game. Devin Booker, in his 10th season in “The Valley,” gives them 25.3 points and seven assists per night. Some of the team’s other bright spots (again, no pun intended) include Nick Richards, Grayson Allen, and Royce O’Neale. (Richards was one of our “Random Stats” earlier this season). The Suns lost in the Conference Semifinals in 2023 and were swept in the first round last year. Social media has been buzzing about the soon-to-be 37-year-old Durant possibly getting traded, but I remain cautiously optimistic. If they miss the play-in tournament, lose in the play-in tournament, or bow out early in the playoffs again, there will be questions this offseason. Their next game is tomorrow, Tuesday, April 1 at 7:30 p.m. They will be on the road to play the Milwaukee Bucks.

Random Stat: Let’s get to the point. The Oklahoma City Thunder’s resurgence all points to one man: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Yes, the Thunder have plenty of young talent. However, Gilgeous-Alexander is MVP-level. He’s been on a scoring tear once again this season, leading the NBA with 32.9 points per game. Gilgeous-Alexander has 67 straight games of at least 20 points, 47 total games of 30+ points, and 12 40+ point games this year! The Toronto native has even joined Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain as the only players in league history to have 45 or more 30-point games in three straight seasons! Gilgeous-Alexander’s scoring has increased almost every season he’s been in the NBA. Then you have the fans who say “BuT, bUt, ShAi Is A fReE tHrOw MeRcHaNt!” Even if you take away SGA’s free throws, 8.1 makes per game, he’s still averaging 24.8 points. It’s crazy to think that he played his rookie season with the Clippers before being traded to the Thunder for Paul George. Gilgeous-Alexander was the 11th overall pick in his draft, but who could’ve seen this leap coming? The SGA-George swap is now considered one of the biggest robberies in league history. Gilgeous-Alexander will be eligible for a supermax contract this summer. And he deserves every penny of that deal.

Game of the Week: For this week’s “Game of the Week,” let’s try Sacramento Kings @ Indiana Pacers. This game will be tonight, Monday, March 31 at 7 p.m. The last time these teams met, Indiana came away with a 122-95 road win on Dec. 22. Fast forward to the present, the Pacers are holding onto a top-four seed in the East. The Kings are hanging on by a thread in the Western Conference play-in tournament. The matchups here should make up for it, though. Former King Tyrese Haliburton, and Pascal Siakam, are a tough duo to face. De’Aaron Fox’s departure in Sacramento has paved the way for Zach LaVine to adjust to his new team. Domantas Sabonis is still a solid franchise block. DeMar DeRozan is a quality veteran. Did I forget to mention that both of these teams are top 10 in the league in points per game? There won’t be a bucket shortage here. I’ll side with the Pacers 121-117.

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!