[Chron] Kenny Smith is once again on the Rockets' side

Don't care. I had respect for him in 1995. Since then, I care about him about as much as he cares about the Rockets, which is to say, not at all.

 

And why the fark should I care?

Dude never defends the Rockets who have him 2 championships and now wants to ride the good times

 

<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-version="4" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:8px;"> <div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> <div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAAGFBMVEUiIiI9PT0eHh4gIB4hIBkcHBwcHBwcHBydr+JQAAAACHRSTlMABA4YHyQsM5jtaMwAAADfSURBVDjL7ZVBEgMhCAQBAf//42xcNbpAqakcM0ftUmFAAIBE81IqBJdS3lS6zs3bIpB9WED3YYXFPmHRfT8sgyrCP1x8uEUxLMzNWElFOYCV6mHWWwMzdPEKHlhLw7NWJqkHc4uIZphavDzA2JPzUDsBZziNae2S6owH8xPmX8G7zzgKEOPUoYHvGz1TBCxMkd3kwNVbU0gKHkx+iZILf77IofhrY1nYFnB/lQPb79drWOyJVa/DAvg9B/rLB4cC+Nqgdz/TvBbBnr6GBReqn/nRmDgaQEej7WhonozjF+Y2I/fZou/qAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://instagram.com/p/2sNJrcI0qL/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_top">The face you make when you go grab a sandwich and the rockets were down 17 and return they up .. #clutchcity2 #okididntmakeasandwich #shocked</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A photo posted by thejetontnt (@thejetontnt) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2015-05-15T05:23:48+00:00">May 14, 2015 at 10:23pm PDT</time></p></div></blockquote>
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Trololo would be proud!
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.......
.......

 

Actually, I've changed my mind. I agree with you. What was so bad about them before? Sure, they may not have been the greatest, but we've had great players like Yao and T-Mac along with guys who busted their ass like Battier and Scola. We may not have been great, but we certainly weren't trash, either.

So, Mr. Smith, we've got our own Mr. Smith now and we don't need your bandwagon ass following us- Hakeem has believed in us all along and helped a lot of our players- there's a reason why we revere him.

 

Right... It took him 30 minutes to make a sandwich? What the heck did he put on it :grin:

 

Perhaps Smith still was upset about the way we let him go after 1996? Who knows.

Kenny was a flawed player, and he got as much criticism as praise as a Rocket, but I will always have a soft spot in my heart for him because of game 1 of the 1995 Finals. Amazing performance, and I am not sure they would have won that championship without it.

 

Kenny

Kenny:grin:

 

Kenny did more than just game 1 of the finals.
Google his stats vs Utah in 94. Google his first year with the Rockets.
Dude was a great ball handler, knew how to run an offense.

 

Tinman, you are right, of course. I think my memory of him is still clouded by the way Derek Harper manhandled him in the 1994 Finals. There was also the fact that Sam Cassell came on so strong as a competitor for the starting job. The truth is that Sam and Kenny had very complementary skillsets, with each possessing qualities and skills that the other lacked. I also think Kenny unfairly was used as a scapegoat when the Rockets struggled back then.

 

What a bandwagoner

 

I'm not sure I understand why he wouldn't be a fan of the rockets before but if he wants to bandwagon hop on board. Most of houston has barely paid attention to the team before the playoffs but I welcome them too.

 

Man,the amount of haters on this board on every little thing is over the top. Dude was part of our best history and deserves a second chance ...Loved Kenny as a Rocket ..hop aboard brother

 

Who tinman?

 

I still remember the 2 "w's" he wrote on his shoes when the rockets were down 0-2 going on the road. He's part of the team that made me a fan of the rockets. It's pained me over the years though to know and see he hasn't been a fan of the team he experienced so much with. It just diminshes the memories I guess. I'm glad he's a fan, just wished he didn't have to crap all over the team for the past few decades.

 

Jumping on the bandwagon

 

Without Kenny Smith, we may not have won our first title in 1994. That being said, I've questioned his character for a long time. When I was 17, I ran into him at an Astros game weeks after they beat the Knicks in the Finals. I asked him for an autograph, and the man would not even look me in the eye as he scribbled a signature and walked off without saying a word. It always stuck with me, and seeing these comments about how he never roots for the Rockets but does now certainly seems like a bandwagoner to me. I'd be curious if anyone ever had interaction with him that was different than my experience. Maybe he was just having a bad day, but my gut tells me that's just the kind of person he is.

 

Wow ..You're actually complaining that a professional athlete gave you an autograph ... do you not even realize how many times some of these guys are asked to sign something ? Would you engage every single person in conversation if you were asked 15 ..30 ..maybe 50 times a day ?

 

Come on guys. How are you going to use Kenny's name in vain? It will take a lot more than this (think committing a heinous crime) before I turn against one of our beloved championship contributors.

 

This has actually been my favorite article since the miracle upset last night.

First, it's good to hear some real talk from Kenny. We could all tell he wasn't high on our team but it was good for him to flat out say it.

And it was GREAT for him to say that the Rockets gutsy performance had made him a fan of the team.

I love it when the Rockets are disrespected in the media because it makes me want the team to prove them wrong. When one of them comes out and actually says, "Hey, you guys proved me wrong. I didn't dig the Rockets and now I do," it's a sure sign that something really special is happening here. I got goosebumps reading that article.

Finally, I am always going to love Kenny Smith. Just like I am always going to love every member of each of those championship teams and every member of the team I grew up watching in the 70s. His loyalty (or rather 'disloyalty') to today's franchise doesn't take anything away from my sense of him as a hero that was instrumental in bringing the first (and only) major pro sports championships to our city.

No matter what he thinks of the Rockets today all I want to do is thank him for his years here. But the fact that he wasn't a fan and our guys made him one is absolutely delicious.