Season 2, Episode 25- Hello, Old Friend

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

Highlight: New York Knicks
Lowlight: Philadelphia 76ers
Random Stat: Trae Young has the most assists in a single season since 2016-17 James Harden
Game of the Week: L.A. Lakers @ Dallas Mavericks

Also, listen to the perspective of our featured guest, Justin Turpin! (Follow him on X @justinmturpin and Instagram @justin.turpin).

"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, April 7, 2025

Chapters

• 0:16 Introduction
• 1:01 Overview of the NBA this Week
• 4:05 Highlight
• 5:33 Lowlight
• 7:03 Random Stat
• 9:00 Game of the Week
• 10:28 Justin Turpin Interview
• 33:25 Conclusion

Transcript

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

Introduction: Hello everybody, and welcome to episode #60 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: Two weeks ago, we talked about the Boston Celtics switching ownership. Now, the Minnesota Timberwolves are doing the same. Owner Glen Taylor has agreed to sell 100% of the franchise to the pairing of entrepreneur Marc Lore and MLB legend Alex Rodriguez. The price tag: $1.5 billion. Things hit a roadblock in March 2024 when Taylor called off the sale. This was due to him believing Lore and Rodriguez breached the agreement and missed a deadline. An arbitration panel sided with Lore and Rodriguez in a three-judge panel split decision. The two added partners to their group, including former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg. Taylor originally bought the Timberwolves in 1994 for $94 million, which saved the franchise from potentially being relocated to New Orleans.

Some people never learn from past mistakes. Memphis Grizzlies superstar Ja Morant was under investigation for making hand gestures that mimic shooting a gun at the Warriors’ bench last Tuesday. The refs issued double technical fouls to Morant and Warriors guard Buddy Hield, who appeared to do something similar. Morant did it again on Thursday against the Miami Heat. On Friday, the NBA issued him a $75,000 fine for “twice making an inappropriate gesture on the playing court.” Morant has already been suspended twice for showing a firearm on social media: one was on an Instagram livestream in a Denver nightclub, and one was on an Instagram livestream on his friend’s account. There’s also the time where Morant got into a heated argument during a Grizzlies-Pacers game. After the game, someone in an SUV, which Morant was in, supposedly pointed a red laser at the Pacers’ bus. A security guard figured the laser was attached to a gun. All of these incidents are not setting a good example as a franchise player. Hopefully, Morant either gets help or stops this behavior altogether.

Finally, Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard received good news this week, as they were notified of their elections to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, Class of 2025. Some of Anthony’s accolades were being a 10-time All-Star and a six-time All-NBA selection (two Second Teams and four Third Teams). Anthony played most of his career with the Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks. Howard’s accomplishments included being an eight-time All-Star, eight-time All-NBA selection (five First Teams, a Second Team, and two Third Teams), and back-to-back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year awards. He played most of his career with the Orlando Magic. The enshrinement ceremony will be on Sept. 6 at the Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.

This episode is entitled "Hello, Old Friend."

So, who’s raising eyebrows at the moment?

Highlight: With the calendar flipping to April, one team is getting their superstar back at the right time: the New York Knicks. The Knicks are 50-28 and third in the Eastern Conference. Jalen Brunson made his return against Phoenix yesterday after being sidelined for a month. New York needs every bit of Brunson’s 26.1 points, three rebounds, and 7.4 assists per game averages. The Knicks’ postseason fell apart last year due to injury upon injury; so hopefully, they can make a strong run with as few players on the injury report as possible. Besides Brunson, New York’s trades for Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges prior to the start of the season showed they weren’t joking around. Towns is always a double-double machine. Bridges plays solid defense on the wings. O.G. Anunoby and Josh Hart make the Knicks’ lineup even filthier. Assuming seeding stays relatively the same by next week, the Knicks should grab the third seed in the East. Nobody was expecting them to take the top seed. No one expected Cleveland to play this well. Third is just right…for now. The Knicks could play the Pacers, Bucks, or Pistons in the first round. Their next game is tomorrow, Tuesday, April 8 at 7:30 p.m. They will host the Boston Celtics.

Lowlight: This is the time of year where some teams are thankful the season is about to end, like the Philadelphia 76ers. The 76ers are 23-55, 13th in the East, and on an 11-game losing streak. To be honest, though, the 76ers’ season was over the minute it was announced that Joel Embiid would miss the first few games of the season. Before Tyrese Maxey was shut down for the year, he was leading the team with 26.3 points, 6.1 assists, and 1.8 steals per night. Paul George, Philadelphia’s prized offseason acquisition, was a huge disappointment in his first year. With four games left in the regular season for the 76ers, and being eliminated from playoff contention, Embiid, Maxey, and George are out for the season. Essentially, Philadelphia has been trotting out the Delaware Blue Coats, their G-League team, every game. As head coach Nick Nurse said recently, “It just didn’t seem like the injury bug would ever leave us.” It’s hard to build momentum with different lineups. If Philadelphia doesn’t show progress next season (e.g. George continues to struggle, Embiid gets injured again), the front office might have to have some uncomfortable conversations. Their next game is tonight, Monday, April 7 at 7:30 p.m. They will be in Miami to take on the Heat.

Random Stat: The NBA has plenty of elite playmakers, regardless of position: Nikola Jokić, Tyrese Haliburton, James Harden, and Trae Young, for instance. Young of the Atlanta Hawks has the most assists in a season (847) since Harden in the 2016-17 season. Young is averaging 11.6 per game, a career-high for him. In 2016-17, Harden made 907 dishes for the Houston Rockets, which was a career-high 11.2 dimes per night. Young has usually been known for double-doubles, with his career averages at 25.3 points and 9.8 assists. This goes for Harden as well with 24 and 7.2, respectively. In one season, Harden went from 7.5 to 11.2, a 3.7 assist increase! (Then-Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni put his star at point guard, hence inflating his averages). Going back to his college days, in 2017-18, Young led Division I at Oklahoma with 8.7 dimes per night. As the first player to ever lead the NCAA in both points and assists in a single season, he was a consensus First Team All-American. The most ridiculous part of Young’s stats is that he isn’t anywhere close to the all-time leader: John Stockton. Stockton had 1,164 assists in 1990-91, which was 14.2 per game. That wasn’t even his career-high! He averaged 14.5 a year earlier. Regardless, I know Young’s teammates don’t mind being on the receiving end of a triple or alley-oop.

Game of the Week: For this week’s “Game of the Week,” I don’t think there’s any other choice besides L.A. Lakers @ Dallas Mavericks. This game will be on Wednesday, April 9 at 7:30 p.m. Luka Dončić will make his return to Dallas for the first time since he was traded for Anthony Davis, formerly of the Lakers, back in February. Dončić spent his first 6.5 years with Dallas, which included a trip to the NBA Finals last season. Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison has been the laughingstock of the NBA since this trade. With Dončić on L.A.’s roster, the Lakers have been cruising along nicely near the top of the Western Conference standings. Dallas has had a crap ton of injuries. Kyrie Irving is already out for the year with a torn ACL. Thankfully, the Mavericks have been able to get players like Davis, Daniel Gafford, and P.J. Washington back on the court. This will be JJ Redick vs. Jason Kidd on the head coach front. I’ll side with the Lakers 120-110.

Interview Segue: To get more insight into our “Game of the Week” this week, we have our 11th guest on “Diehlman at Halftime” season two. Let’s get into it!

Justin Turpin Interview

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 Justin Turpin for being our guest this week on the podcast. Remember, you can follow him on X @justinmturpin and Instagram @justin.turpin. And don’t forget to spread the word about “Diehlman at Halftime!” We have reached the end of the regular season portion of “Diehlman at Halftime” season two, and starting with next week’s episode until the end of the season, we will transition into the playoff portion. The next two episodes will be “Special Editions.” Next week, I will unveil my entire playoff bracket, including the play-in tournament. The week after, we will do a Power Rankings Predictions review. Remember that first episode where I ranked all 30 NBA teams 1-30? We’re going to look back on it to see how good (or bad) I did. So make sure you tune in to that. See you next time, fellow hoops fans!