Overall he has become an overrated player. I’ll say this - he is to this day an underrated shooter and was an extremely efficient offensive player. He shot over 40% from 3 during a time when it didn’t happen. He also hit his free throws and mid range jumpers. As a playmaker he was steady but not good. Defensively he was as bad as it got - but at least he learned to funnel them into the lane so Hakeem would clean it up. Kind of a weird career - was a legend in high school and was very good T UNC- high lottery pick and didn’t pan out. Learned to shoot and pick his spots and made a nice career. I always liked the ugly - lesser talented - less prospect from a lesser school -Sam Cassell because he make stuff happen… BUT if I needed a perimeter shot to win, I wanted 42% Smith taking it.
Have a close friend I grew up with who back then and today would describe Kenny’s defense as “OLE” (with an accent mark I’m missing) like a bullfighter…letting his man go right by him routinely. As you said, having Dream behind you was a massive luxury for those perimeter players. But Bob and Vernon cared a lot about stopping their man.
Bob and Vernon were really good defensively - obviously Hakeem was the best… I always wanted to see how good defensively that Rockets team would have been with an elite defensive point guard like Mookie Blaylock or Ron Harper.
Woooo weee now you’re playing my song. The ONLY teams outside of Houston I ever cared about winning a title were the Saints (because of my connection to a nonprofit and some amazing families I met from NOLA after Katrina) and the Detroit Pistons because they could lock a mutha ****a up. Love teams that play defense that way. To me that’s the beautiful game. Team defense. Helping each other even when MJ is the threat you gotta lock up.
I was in elementary school when the Rockets played the Knicks in 94. I was watching Game 7 with my high school age brother and his friends, one of them was a hooper and played varsity at Cy Fair. Late in the game when the Rockets looks liked they might start pulling away, after a Knicks timeout he said "they're going to give the ball straight to whoever Kenny is guarding." Right on cue, Derek Harper received the inbound and immediately dribbled towards the basket, got Kenny back-peddling badly, and hit a pull up 3 right away. I will never forget that shot because 1) how my brother's friend called it, my young self thought he was the most brilliant basketball mind alive; and 2) Harper's shot was so clean the bottom of the net didn't even move. It looked so weird.
