Season 2, Episode 33- It All Comes Down to This

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

Highlight: Indiana Pacers
Lowlight: Minnesota Timberwolves
Random Stat: Pacers-Thunder is the "Paul George Finals"
Game of the Week: Indiana Pacers @ Oklahoma City Thunder (NBA Finals, Game 1)

Also, listen to the perspective of our featured guest, Jerry Donatien! (Follow him on X @jerrydonatien and Instagram @jkdonatien).

"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, June 2, 2025

Chapters

• 0:15 Introduction
• 1:00 Overview of the NBA this Week
• 4:24 Highlight
• 6:03 Lowlight
• 7:53 Jerry Donatien Interview
• 21:48 Random Stat
• 23:27 Game of the Week
• 24:46 Conclusion

Transcript

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

Introduction: Hello everybody, and welcome to episode #68 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: Some unsettling news came out of New Orleans this week. A woman is accusing Pelicans superstar Zion Williamson of rape and years of abuse. The woman, currently going by the pseudonym “Jane Doe,” said that Williamson exhibited a “continuing pattern of abusive, controlling and threatening behavior” throughout their five-year relationship. Two incidents in 2020 were mentioned in the court filing. The lawsuit also pointed out that Williamson strangled her multiple times and threatened to kill her family. Williamson’s legal team said that their client and “Jane Doe” had a “consensual, casual relationship.” “Jane Doe” is seeking between $18 million-$50 million. These are strong accusations against the former Duke star, and we hope they’re not true. Williamson, who’s had a frustrating injury history in his six seasons with the Pelicans, played in 30 games this season before being ruled out in March with a lower back contusion.

On a more positive note, the Utah Jazz are slowly becoming the Utah Celtics…without the success. The Jazz have pried Austin Ainge, the son of team CEO and alternate owner Danny Ainge, away from Boston and will make him president of basketball operations. Austin will work side-by-side with general manager Justin Zanik. I say Utah is becoming the Celtics because now they have two Ainges, with Danny having a long history with the Celtics as a player and executive. And Utah’s head coach, Will Hardy, was an assistant for Boston a few years ago. What’s next? Are they going to trade for Jayson Tatum?! Austin worked for Danny in Beantown for over a decade before the latter went to Utah in 2021.

Finally, the NBA on TNT officially came to a close on Saturday evening following the Indiana Pacers’ win over the New York Knicks. Although TNT’s NBA contract is expiring at the end of the season, it’s over now because the Finals will be on ABC as usual. The NBA on TNT premiered on Nov. 4, 1989. What’s made the network stand out is “Inside the NBA,” the popular pregame, halftime, and postgame show hosted by Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, and Kenny “The Jet” Smith. The league signed 11-year media deals with ABC/ESPN, NBC, and Amazon Prime Video last summer. Thankfully, although no more games will be on TNT, “Inside the NBA” will now be broadcasted on ESPN and ABC. Everyone’s favorite quartet will still be there. What a run for TNT.

We have our official 2025 NBA Finals matchup: the Oklahoma City Thunder vs. the Indiana Pacers. The Thunder blew out the Timberwolves in five games, while Indiana finished off New York in six. My official Finals prediction is Thunder in five.

Third round Eastern Conference elimination: New York Knicks

Third round Western Conference elimination: Minnesota Timberwolves

This episode is entitled "It All Comes Down to This."

So, who’s raising eyebrows at the moment?

Highlight: Wow. They did it. Let’s be honest: who the hell had the Indiana Pacers representing the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals back in October? The Pacers took care of the New York Knicks in six games. Going up 2-0 on the road set the tone for the series in the Pacers’ favor, especially with the Game 1 choke by New York. Despite this being Tyrese Haliburton’s team, Pascal Siakam claimed the Eastern Conference Finals MVP award (a.k.a. the Larry Bird trophy, for the East). Siakam averaged 24.8 points, five rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.3 steals per game against the Knicks. He capped off the series with 31 points and three blocks. Haliburton was a machine as usual. He had at least 11 assists in four of the six games. Two things in particular make Indiana dangerous. First, their aggressive, fast-paced offense. The fast break is ugly for most defenses they face. The other is their deep rotation. Some teams shrink their bench in the playoffs. Not Indiana. Obi Toppin, Ben Sheppard, and Bennedict Mathurin are not to be looked down upon. As expected, the Pacers will be viewed as underdogs in the Finals. The Thunder will be a challenge. Both teams’ rosters are tough to stop, so consistency will be key. Game 1 of the NBA Finals is on Thursday, June 5 at 8:30 p.m. in Oklahoma City.

Lowlight: Fortunes can change in the blink of an eye in the postseason, just like those of the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Oklahoma City Thunder removed Minnesota from the Western Conference Finals in just five games. Despite every game essentially being a blowout, it was a good series…well, except for Timberwolves fans. Anthony Edwards averaged 23 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 4.6 assists against the Thunder. In Julius Randle’s first season in the Twin Cities, he showed why he was a good acquisition with Karl-Anthony Towns being shown the door. Then this series happened. Randle had his ups and his downs. When I say downs, I mean downs. In Game 5, Randle was forcing shots in the paint into triple coverage with shooters wide open on the perimeter. He got blocked. To make matters worse, this offseason could be interesting for Minnesota because of their payroll. Randle and Naz Reid, two of their best big men, have player options. Nickeil Alexander-Walker is a free agent. I’m confident Randle and Reid will opt-in and stay. Alexander-Walker, who knows? Edwards said that he’ll “work his butt off” and that “nobody’s going to work harder than me this summer.” We can’t wait to see Edwards and the Timberwolves grow in the future. For now, the Timberwolves’ offseason begins, as they attempt a run to their third-straight Western Conference Finals.

Interview Segue: To get more insight into our “Lowlight” this week, we have our 18th guest on “Diehlman at Halftime” season two. Let’s get into it!

Jerry Donatien Interview

Random Stat: While the NBA Finals will be great to watch for the fans, I think there’s one man who won’t have as much enjoyment: Paul George. Indiana and Oklahoma City is officially the “Paul George Finals.” For those of you that don’t know, George, currently of the Philadelphia 76ers, previously played for the Pacers and Thunder. When he was traded from Indiana to Oklahoma City, the return was Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis. Sabonis would eventually be traded to Sacramento for Tyrese Haliburton. After a short stint with the Thunder, George was dealt to the L.A. Clippers for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and a boatload of picks. Who became of one of those picks? Jalen Williams. Now, George will enter his second season with the 76ers after a disastrous first year. He even revealed that one fan told him the 76ers should’ve kept Tobias Harris if they knew George would be this bad! After Harris’ inconsistencies in Philadelphia, that’s hilarious. It’s odd how this all worked out. George was a star in Indiana for seven seasons. He and Russell Westbrook meshed nicely in Oklahoma City, with George having a career year in 2018-19. Kawhi Leonard’s injuries ruined the potential between him and George. Sometimes, the road to a championship involves sacrificing players you want to keep. The moral of this story: are the 76ers on their way to a title in a few years without George?

Game of the Week: For this week’s “Game of the Week,” it’s the matchup we’ve all been waiting for: Indiana Pacers @ Oklahoma City Thunder. Game 1 is on Thursday, June 5 at 8:30 p.m. This series marks the fifth time the Oklahoma City Thunder/Seattle SuperSonics has reached the Finals (remember, the SuperSonics became the Thunder in 2008). Oklahoma City hasn’t been here since losing to the LeBron James-led Miami Heat in 2012. Indiana is only here for the second time, with their first appearance being a loss to the Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal L.A. Lakers in 2000. To reach the Finals, the Thunder pushed past the Grizzlies, Nuggets, and Timberwolves this postseason. The Pacers dominated the Bucks, Cavaliers, and Knicks. To make this series even cooler, the Larry O’Brien trophy will be hoisted by the seventh different team in seven seasons. Will it be Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren winning it all? Or will it be Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam? I’ll take the Thunder to start off strong, 125-114.

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 Jerry Donatien for being our guest this week on the podcast. Remember, you can follow him on X @jerrydonatien and Instagram @jkdonatien. As you can probably guess, we’re coming up on the last few episodes of season two of “Diehlman at Halftime.” If the Finals goes to 4-5 games, there will be two episodes after today. If the Finals goes to 6-7, there will be three more episodes. It’ll all depend on how contested this series is. And with Pacers-Thunder being the only matchup left, today was the last “Game of the Week” of the season. We’ll fill the void with something else in the meantime. And don’t forget to spread the word about “Diehlman at Halftime!” See you next time, fellow hoops fans!