Kenny all day, just because I love The Price Is Right so much (his wife was one of the models on The Price Is Right).
you missed out on the kenny smith when he first became a Rocket, we tore up the league. And there's no way you can compare Kenny to Rafer. Kenny was a much better point guard and much quicker.
Kenny was a better shooter and passer for sure. That's clear and the stats say that. But overall as a basketball player - D.F. would get the nod. What he does in terms of defense and hard-nose physical play is impressive.
watch... fav highlight :kenny smith 7:39 vs the entire bulls team Bulls vs Rockets, guess who the hero is ??? This game: http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/199103250CHI.html <object width="500" height="405"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Iu92R-UR12o&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Iu92R-UR12o&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="500" height="405"></embed></object> Recap: Spoiler http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1991_772744 Rockets snap Bulls' win string EDDIE SEFKO Staff TUE 03/26/1991 HOUSTON CHRONICLE, Section Sports, Page 1, 2 STAR CHICAGO - It's official. The Rockets are legitimate. So legitimate, in fact, they did what 26 teams before them couldn't - win at Chicago Stadium. The Rockets overwhelmed the Bulls 100-90 Monday night, extending their winning streak to 12 games and handing the Bulls their first home loss since Dec. 8, when Portland won here. In fact, the Rockets might have become league-certified championship contenders with their performance, which was rock-solid from start to finish. The Bulls came in with the best record in the NBA. The Rockets came out of the game with more respect and, of course, the victory. It was a game the Rockets would have been happy to just get out of healthy. The last time these teams met, Bill Cartwright's elbow smashed Hakeem Olajuwon's right eye. It was payback time in the most painful way. The Rockets did it with solid defense and excellent play from their guards. Kenny Smith led the Rockets with 25 points; Sleepy Floyd scored 10 consecutive points in the fourth quarter. Ahead 85-80, the Rockets got a layup, a free throw, a three-point shot and two free throws by Floyd as they outscored the Bulls down the stretch. Floyd's streak kept the Rockets in front 93-86 with less than two minutes to go. He topped it off with two free throws for good measure, and the Bulls resorted to three-pointers, which they couldn't make in the final minute. The Bulls were not without incentive. The Rockets had handed Chicago its worst loss of the season in Houston, a 114-92 pounding, and the bulk of the margin was gained after Olajuwon had hit the deck. The Bulls must have been as surprised as anybody when the Rockets stormed to a 17-point third-quarter lead, then were still up by 11 going into the final 12 minutes. And the Bulls were led, not surprisingly, by a hot-shooting guard. Yes, B.J. Armstrong did most of the damage. Who? The third-year reserve guard from Iowa hit a pair of baskets during Chicago's 9-3 streak to open the final period. That got them to 76-71. But the Rockets recaptured a nine-point lead as Olajuwon hit a short fadeaway and Smith drove the lane for a nice layup with 6:44 to go. The Bulls called timeout to collect themselves. Michael Jordan had yet to be heard from, sitting out four minutes and going scoreless for another four. After the timeout, he knocked in the Bulls' next seven points, but the Rockets kept their focus and their lead. If not their cool. Jordan and Maxwell got into a mild shoving match with 5:19 to go. Both players received technical fouls, rendering the incident meaningless. It had been Maxwell's job all night to stick with Jordan and he had done a decent job of harassing the league's leading scorer, despite what the final numbers would indicate. At any rate, after the altercation, Maxwell pumped in a 20-foot jumper for an 84-77 lead. Jordan came back on the next possession to get fouled on a quick drive by Maxwell. After the play, Jordan was doing a lot of talking to Maxwell, who simply grinned. After that, it became a pressure-packed final four minutes, with the heat on during every possession. The Rockets responded just as they have in every game in March. They won. In the pre-game hoopla, Olajuwon sat in the visitors' locker room, and the television showed the Rockets' Jan. 3 game against the Bulls at The Summit. Did he have any flashbacks? "No, look I'm still in the game," Olajuwon said, pointing to the screen. "And without goggles." Nobody would have blamed Olajuwon if he'd been a little skittish about going against the Bulls. Judging from the first quarter, the nerves must not have been completely steady for Olajuwon. Either that, or the Rockets simply forgot about him because Olajuwon was barely part of the action. In the first quarter, Olajuwon was low man among Rockets starters with two field-goal attempts. Not surprisingly, the Rockets were trailing 28-22, but it could have been worse. They got a last-minute boost from Floyd, whose three-pointer with three seconds to go put the Rockets in a better frame of mind starting the second quarter. The Rockets began the period with a 12-2 surge during which Olajuwon came alive. He hit three consecutive shots, the last of which gave the Rockets the lead 32-30. Up to that point, they had been doing a splendid job of putting a ball-and-chain on Jordan. Maxwell had pursued him around the court almost nonstop. "You can't just let him go crazy," coach Don Chaney said. "We knew we had to contain him at least somewhat to have a chance." Just when the Rockets thought they were doing a good job, Jordan scored eight of the Bulls' last 10 points of the first half. The good news was nobody else on the Bulls' squad was hurting the Rockets. Meanwhile, Smith was dropping in an occasional jumper and the Rockets' defense was confounding the Bulls. The Rockets had 11 steals, usually an entire game's worth, in the first two quarters. Those thefts constituted most of the Bulls' 15 first-half turnovers. With so many botched opportunities, it was no wonder the Bulls were in a 51-42 hole at halftime, getting outscored 29-14 in the second quarter. And the Rockets, who treated this as a game of playoff-type importance, kept rolling after the intermission. The Bulls were limited to four points in the first 5:10 after halftime, shooting 1-for-7 from the field. The Rockets could do no wrong. As an example of the kind of roll they were on, Maxwell broke free on a breakaway, but a Chicago defender was closing in. Maxwell caught the ball too close to the basket, but scooped up a high, arching flip shot that kissed the glass and dropped through the net. Those are the kinds of plays that generate a 63-46 advantage, which the Rockets hd with seven minutes to play in the third period. Jordan had yet to make a peep in the second half, but his time would come. He scored six of Chicago's eight points as they crept back within 65-54, but the Rockets, with Maxwell scoring on consecutive layups, moved back ahead by 15 as the quarter wound down. While an 11-point lead against Jordan and Co. is not safe, the Rockets had to figure themselves in good shape as they rolled into the fourth quarter with a 73-62 lead.
tinman, sometimes you're too splashy for your own good. If you just list individual games, I can give you tons of counterexamples of Rafer games. I mean, there were indeed games his teardrops actually worked. And he was our fearless leader who led our team during our 22-game winning streak. So basically, all your articles and images are worthless to the discussion. That said, It took me about 1 minute to change my opinion of Kenny Smith by just scanning BR.com. Statistics doesn't back me up at all. His shooting percentage and # of shots inside the 3 point line were way too high for my assertion to work. So admit my memory is wrong. But with the added disclaimer that your stuff had nothing to do with that change in opinion.
Fisher is strictly a solid role player, Kenny Smith was actually a pretty good player in his day, we think of him as a role player. Derek Fisher has just played on better teams, Kenny Smith was substantially better. In 90-91 Kenny Smith averaged 17.7 PPG, 7.1 APG, 52% FG on a 50 win team, when dream missed 30 games, that is a pretty good player. Career Kenny Smith PPG 12.8 APG 5.5 FG% 48% 3 Pt% 40% Derek Fisher PPG 9.0 APG 3.0 FG% 40% 3Pt % 37%
well, I pointed out that game cause Kenny didn't shoot a single 3 and led the Rockets to victory over the Bulls.
Derek Fisher is currently the worst starting PG in the league. He's also a dirty player who flops too much. This is an easy answer.
Looking at Kenny's career he sacrificed his game for the better of the team. The Rockets became a contender when he turned into a control point guard who basically got the team into his offense.
IT's surreal that there are people out there who thinks Fisher is a good player. He's a good fit in the system and a clutch 3nd point shooter. the rest not so much.
These stats do not matter because according to your rules it states "in their prime". Their primes did not last the duration of their playoff stints and when Fisher was in his prime he came off the bench.
Seriously, meh, Rafer was a serviceable player and played way above his head during the STREAK but a good player....nah.....you have to be consistent and not streaky, flashy
another question, easier one. who is more fun to watch? slow, foul prone and flopping Fisher or the Jet on TNT?
People used to say the same about Kenny. Barry Warner (former Houston radio personality) used to say if the Rockets ever won a championship with Kenny Smith as their point guard, he'd sit naked on top of the Astrodome. He said this for years (I assume he never honored that 'bet'). These are the kinds point guards that win championships, not the ones who dominate the ball.
