Season 2, Episode 35- Best of Three

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

Highlight: Oklahoma City Thunder
Lowlight: Indiana Pacers
Random Stat: Alex Caruso is an X-factor in the Finals

Also, listen to the perspective of our featured guest, Chris DiPietro! (Follow him on Instagram @chrisdipi).

"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 16, 2025

Chapters

• 0:16 Introduction
• 1:00 Overview of the NBA this Week
• 4:46 Highlight
• 6:49 Chris DiPietro Interview
• 20:11 Lowlight
• 21:57 Random Stat
• 23:26 Conclusion

Transcript

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

Introduction: Hello everybody, and welcome to episode #70 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 four sections that we’ll get into: a general overview of the NBA this week, and our usual “Highlight, Lowlight, and Random Stat.”

Overview of the NBA this Week: It’s not even the offseason yet, but we have an early Christmas present: a trade! On Sunday, the Memphis Grizzlies agreed to trade Desmond Bane to the Orlando Magic for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony, four unprotected first-round picks, and a first-round pick swap. One of those picks the Grizzlies are receiving is the 16th pick in the upcoming draft. Bane spent his first five seasons as a pro in Memphis, earning All-Rookie Second Team in 2021. He brings three-point shooting to a team that ranked last in the league in the regular season. Bane, who’s averaged around 20 points per game every season except his rookie year, saw career-highs in field-goal percentage (.484), rebounds (6.1), and steals (1.2) in 2024-25. Anthony was taken in the same draft as Bane and spent his first five years in Orlando. He gets a new start in Memphis, since his minutes have been declining for the last three seasons. Caldwell-Pope won a title with Denver and the Lakers in the past couple of seasons. While Bane is a good player for this young Orlando team, giving up four unprotected firsts is a steep price. But, that’s the norm today. We’ll see if the Magic and Grizzlies make other moves in the coming weeks.

The New York Knicks are exploring every possible option for their now-vacant head coach spot after Tom Thibodeau’s firing. New York’s list included Jason Kidd, Ime Udoka, Chris Finch, Quin Snyder, and Billy Donovan. What’s the problem with these men? They’re still employed! Respectively, they’re the head coaches of the Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks, and Chicago Bulls. All five teams denied the Knicks from speaking to their head coaches. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a team go after so many head coaches that haven’t been fired yet at once. Whoever ends up taking the Knicks’ job will have a big task ahead of them. Thibodeau took New York to their first Eastern Conference Finals since 2000. This team has championship aspirations with their stacked lineup. As of Thursday, recently-fired head coaches Mike Brown (Kings) and Taylor Jenkins (Grizzlies) are next on the list. Will either one of them be the last man standing?

Finally, the Phoenix Suns might be ready to shake up the league this summer. A Kevin Durant trade may be imminent, according to NBA sources. The Miami Heat, Houston Rockets, and Minnesota Timberwolves are all vying for the superstar forward’s services. The San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks were considered in the running too, but not as heavily as the former three. Despite Minnesota being a team “gaining steam” as of the other day, NBA insider Shams Charania said that Durant has no interest in going to Minnesota. Despite Durant’s contract being ready to expire after the 2025-26 season, the soon-to-be 37-year-old is eligible for a two-year extension after a trade. The Suns are trying anything to breathe life into their franchise. Even with their talent, Phoenix has been swept in the first round and missed the playoffs entirely in back-to-back years. If Durant is traded, it’ll be the fifth team in his Hall-of-Fame career, after the Oklahoma City Thunder, Golden State Warriors, Brooklyn Nets, and the Suns.

This episode is entitled "Best of Three."

So, who’s raising eyebrows at the moment?

Highlight: The Oklahoma City Thunder are showing how you get back up when you get knocked down. The Thunder and Indiana Pacers are tied 2-2 in the NBA Finals. The Thunder overcame a 10-point deficit on Friday and were trailing by seven in the fourth quarter. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had another masterpiece in Game 4, dropping 35 points, three steals, and a block. Fifteen of those 35 points came in the fourth quarter, and he also hit a big fourth-quarter triple in a game where Oklahoma City was 3-16 from downtown. Jalen Williams had nearly-identical stat lines in Games 3 and 4: respectively, 26 points, six rebounds, and three assists on 9-18 shots in 36 minutes, and 27 points, seven boards, and three dimes on 8-18 shots in 36 minutes. Consistency at its finest! Head coach Mark Daigneault shook up the starting lineup again by putting Isaiah Hartenstein back for Cason Wallace, who took Hartenstein’s place in Games 1-3. Alex Caruso continues to be a machine off the bench, as he had 20 points and five steals in the Game 4 victory. With the teams splitting in both cities, we’re going to a minimum of six games. It’s been the same win pattern so far: Pacers, Thunder, Pacers, Thunder. Now, it’s a best-of-three series. Here we go. Game 5, and the potential turning point, is tonight, Monday, June 16 at 8:30 p.m. in Oklahoma City.

Interview Segue: To get more insight into our “Highlight” this week, we have our 20th guest on “Diehlman at Halftime” season two. Let’s get into it!

Chris DiPietro Interview

Lowlight: No matter the circumstances, you can’t squander opportunities that are there for the taking. The Indiana Pacers, at home for Games 3 and 4, and with a double-digit lead in Game 4, had a chance to go up 3-1 over the Thunder... but it was not to be. I said last week that Tyrese Haliburton needed to bring more aggressiveness in his scoring. And he has shown signs of that. He was one rebound shy of a 22-point triple-double in Game 3 and 4-8 from three-point range. Indiana’s Game 3 highlights were mostly from the bench. T.J. McConnell had 10 points, five assists, and five steals in 15 minutes. Bennedict Mathurin was a firecracker with 27 points in 22 minutes. However, Game 4 was different. Pascal Siakam had one field goal attempt in the fourth quarter (which he missed). As someone who was recently named Eastern Conference Finals MVP, one field goal isn’t going to get the job done. Although, four of his five steals came in just the first quarter. Obi Toppin was cooking. Mathurin, though, had a particularly bad final minute of play. Mathurin came into the game after Aaron Nesmith fouled out. He proceeded to pick up two dumb fouls, and he went 1-4 from the foul line. Oh boy. Regardless of who wins tonight, Game 6 is back in Indiana on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. However, if the Pacers lose Game 5, it’ll be an uphill climb as the series reaches its finale.

Random Stat: Even though you could have the best team ever assembled, it doesn’t mean squat if you don’t have a “glue guy.” Alex Caruso is that guy. In Game 4, the Oklahoma City Thunder guard put up 20 points on 7-9 shooting and five steals off the bench. He’s only the second player in NBA history with at least 20 points, five steals, and 75% shooting in a Finals game and the first bench player in Finals history to have at least 20 points and five steals in a game. But wait, there’s more! Caruso is also the first player in NBA history to have two 20-point games in the Finals after having none in the regular season. In short, he’s got that “dawg” in him. The Thunder stole…I mean, acquired, Caruso from Chicago last offseason for Josh Giddey. While Giddey looks like he’s on the verge of becoming a star, this Caruso deal is looking better and better every day for Oklahoma City. Caruso won a title with the Lakers (the same year as Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, like we mentioned earlier), and he was a former All-Defensive First and Second Team selection. Although his stats don’t “wow” you, his hustle and determination do. I better not turn my back because Caruso might steal my “thunder!”

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 Chris DiPietro for being our guest this week on the podcast. Remember, you can follow him on Instagram @chrisdipi. Now that we know the NBA Finals is going past five games, it’s now confirmed that there will be one more episode for “Diehlman at Halftime” season two. There was a chance today would’ve been the last one, but not anymore. With next week being episode #36 of the season, this is now the longest season of “Diehlman at Halftime,” and that includes the podcast and the column I used to write for Rowan University! You don’t want to miss next week’s season finale. We’ll crown a champion and wrap everything up before we go on hiatus until October. And don’t forget to spread the word about “Diehlman at Halftime!” See you next time, fellow hoops fans!