🏀 Rock Bottom.

December 22, 2022

Good morning Beyond The Press family! Hope everyone is staying warm and safe as this winter storm approaches us. We had some breaking news in the sports world last night as former five-star recruit, Travis Hunter, has decided to follow Deion Sanders to Colorado. Safe to say Deion will not be lacking any recruits this upcoming season! In college basketball last night we had Eastern Illinois upset Iowa on the road as a 31.5-point underdog. This is officially the biggest college basketball upset in the modern era! In the NBA world, we take a deep dive into the Class of 2023 Hall of Fame nominees. Furthermore we take a look at "wannabe all-star" Tyrese Haliburton and how he proved Wally Szczerbiak wrong! Not to mention Steve Kerr has said the Warriors have hit 'rock bottom'??? We break it all down in today's rendition of BTP!

Stay warm!

HALL OF FAME

The 2023 NBA Hall of Fame Class is Loaded!

Yesterday, the nominees for the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame Class of 2023 were announced, and it is shaping up to be an all-time group. First-time nominees and virtual locks include Dirk Nowitzki, Dwyane Wade, Pau Gasol, Tony Parker, and legendary coach Gregg Popovich.

While players must be retired for a minimum of four years before they’re eligible for the Hall of Fame, coaches are subject to slightly different rules. A coach may be considered for the Hall without being retired for four years so long as they’ve been coaching full-time for 25 years. Pop has long since cleared that threshold, and with him, it was always more a matter of when he’d allow the NBA to bestow him with the honor.

For traditional enshrinement, the Hall of Fame follows a three-step process. After the names are announced, there will be two rounds of cuts narrowing the nominees down, with each subsequent list revealed during the All-Star Weekend and the Final Four, respectively. In addition to this nomination process, prospective members may also be admitted through the international direct-elect committee, the contributor direct-elect committee, and the veterans direct-elect committee.

Some notable names who were eligible to be nominated but didn’t make the cut include Amar’e Stoudemire, Detlef Schrempf, and Shawn Kemp.

SILENCE THE HATERS

Tyrese Haliburton Dunks on Wally Szczerbiak's Trash Take

Earlier this week, one-time All-Star Wally Szczerbiak went viral after calling Tyrese Haliburton a “supposed, wannabe, fake All-Star.” Haliburton, who's having a breakout season and even made Kendrick Perkins’s top-five MVP list earlier this year, heard the noise and wasn’t about to let it go unchallenged.

The first chance he had to clap back was last night’s game against the Celtics and boy, did he deliver. Haliburton finished the first quarter scoring 15 points and five assists on 5-7 shooting. Instantly, Pacers Twitter got to work defending their franchise player, but Haliburton was just getting started. He finished the game with a stat line of 33 points, eight assists, and three rebounds while shooting 50% from the field and 46% from three.

Szczerbiak, dripping with egg on his face, had no choice but to walk back on his previous statement saying: “I want to apologize personally to Tyrese Haliburton…wonderful young player…definitely in the All-Star conversation.”

Haliburton, barring injury, is a lock for an All-Star this year and looks to have a really bright future in this league. But context matters here, and had a guy like MJ made this comment; it likely wouldn’t have gone viral the way it did. But Szczerbiak simply isn’t the best messenger for such a bold take like this. This year, Halliburton is averaging 19.5 points, 10.7 assists, and four rebounds on 47% field goal shooting, while Szczerbiak only averaged 18.7 points, 3.1 assists, and 4.8 rebounds on 51% field goal shooting during his lone All-Star season.

'ROCK BOTTOM'

Steve Kerr Says Warriors Have Hit "Rock Bottom"

The Warriors may have blown out a lot of teams in their day, but last night they were on the receiving end of a historically bad one. The Warriors conceded 91 first-half points to the Nets, which is the third-most first-half points in NBA history. The Nets, who were without Kyrie Irving in the lineup, went on to win 143-113.

The Warriors have now lost by 30 or more points in back-to-back games while extending their pathetic road record to just 3-16. Now, in the Warriors' defense, they were without Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Andrew Wiggins for this particular matchup, but championship teams have to find ways to weather the storm. Curry is expected to be out for a while, and if they can’t scrape together some wins with him gone, it could ruin their title defense.

Kerr, as per usual, didn’t run away from the loss and didn’t try to sugarcoat it. He said: "We're just right now at that point that pretty much everybody goes during an 82-game season, most teams anyway, [where] you hit rock bottom with injuries, schedule, fatigued, whatever it is.”

If there’s one bright spot about this Warriors loss, it was that James Wiseman, who had been sent down to the G League earlier this year to get more reps, had his best game as a pro, dropping an impressive 30 points while coming off the bench.

THE RUMOR MILL

Report: Lakers expected to pursue big man in trade market, could have interest in Mo Bamba

NBA Trade Rumors: Zach LaVine is trying to force his way to the Lakers?

THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY

December 22, 2022: New Orleans receiver Michael Thomas sets NFL record for most catches in a season with his 144th, breaks 17-year old record held by Marvin Harrison (143)