If this is true, imagine how fast he woulda been if his knees didn't bump. Seriously though, 40% from 3 in that era? Hell of a piece to a championship team.
Dude was shooting wide open threes most of the time. He didn’t create offense at all. He strictly played off Dream and was out of the league quickly when he left Houston. Which is why Cassell was much better. The Payton’s, Kevin Johnsons, Stocktons, hell Derek Harper would kick his ass constantly.
Having on the 1st run: 4 excellent defenders around him Having on the 2nd run: 4 excellent defenders around him "Don't turn it over and hit your 3's" Him going absolutely nuts on Orlando is one of my favorite Rockets' moments. What was it, 7 3's in the 2nd half?
Nobody called him the jet in Houston, that’s for sure. I consumed every piece of Rockets media I could get my hands on between 1992-1997. I can assure you I never once heard Bill Worrell, Calvin Murphy, Bruce Gietzen, Lisa Malosky, Bob Allen, Craig Roberts, Tim Melton, Giff Nielsen, Spencer Tillman, Eddie Sefko, Fran Blinebury, Dale Robertson, Mickey Herskowitz, Robert Falkoff, Kenny Hand, Ed Fowler, Gene Peterson, Jim Foley, or Charlie Pallilo call Kenny Smith ‘the Jet’ EVER. He was just called “Kinny”.
Kenny Smith was below average. Worse than Steve Kerr by a longshot. The fact he's using Hakeem's greatness to act like he's some sort of legend is laughable. If it wasn't for Hakeem, this dude would be playing in China somewhere.
Kenny was flawed but he was way better than Steve Kerr. Kerr was a bench player, a 3pt specialist who is only famous because of Michael Jordan. You could say Kenny’s only famous because of Olajuwon, which is mostly true, but for all his flaws Kenny was an NBA starting caliber PG. Kerr may be the one guy whose NBA playing career has gotten even more exaggerated than Kenny Smith.
I think he’s a fine TV analyst. Far better than he was as a player. He drove me nuts getting torched constantly. But when his shot was on, the Rockets were damn near on unbeatable, because of Dream’s impact on both ends of the floor. But Kenny could drive both coaches crazy in the same game between his hot shooting and bad defense. If his shot was off, often Cassell would come in and pick up the slack.
The fact is the people who hate Kenny never saw him play and are just mad Tmac and Yao fans who keep getting mad Kenny didn’t predict the Rockets to win a title they never saw Kenny play Kenny destroyed Stockton in the 94 playoffs Notice how nobody mentions that here Same with Barkley . They are basing their nba opinions on their tnt show
Comparing a 30yo Kenny Smith to a 21yo Jalen Green isn't all that useful. If you simply look at raw production, Jalen is averaging nearly 22ppg. Kenny Smith never averaged 18ppg. That said, I'd trade a 30 yo Kenny Smith for KPJ even though KPJ is far more talented than Kenny Ever was. But Jalen could benefit from a veteran and reliable PG next to him. I dunno about high school. Kenny's prime years were in Houston and those of us that were around, nobody ever once referred to him as "the jet". So if I hear anybody call him that, I instantly know that person wasn't a Rockets fan from the '90s and probably only knows him from TNT. No biggy. Just is.
