[educating the newbs] Rockets PG 101

I thought game one was the one where Hakeem had the back-handed tip-in to tie the game??? Or was that to win the game in OT? I don't remember clearly anymore.

 

Wrong. I have been following the Rockets since 1978. I remeber Kenny very well. He had a very mediocre career with the Rockets. You pointed out the year he averaged 17.7 which was his career year with the Rockets . What about these years????

1991-1992: 14.4
1992-1993: 12.9
1993-1994: 11.6
1994-1995: 10.4
1995-1996: 8.5

Notice a little trend there captain? About a 20% drop-off in scoring every year. The same holds true for his assists. And, we know that he played matador defense. As I stated before, he had a very mediocre career and rode the coattails of the Dream to 2rings (due props for the Jazz and Orlando playoff performances noted). I can think of multiple Rockets PG that were better than Kenny. Starting with John Lucas, Sam Cassell (albeit a short stint with the Rockets), Bobby Joe Reid, and Sleepy Floyd to name a few. By the way, PG is also historically the weakest positon for the Rockets. being 4th or 5th on the all-time list of Rockets PG is not exactly a ringing endorsement of one's career.

 

Didn't say he didn't play a part. I just refuted the fact that he was "all that" like you claimed. You lost the debate and now you are twisting the argument around to suit your needs. He was a role player, who played his role but he had clear defencies - namely he was a very average ball handler, penetrated sporadically at best, played NO defense and was commonly regarded as soft. If your point is that KS was a Rocket all-time great - you are wrong plain and simple. As far as your claim of pointing out his stats when he got "old and slow," we are talking just 3 seasons removed from the 17.7 career year you pointed out and his barely averaging double figures. By the time it got to the prime years pre and during the championships, your guy was often not even playing in the 4th quarter because that was usually Sam's time.

 

Possibly not but possibly they just haven't been given the chance to develop into that role. Rudy T took some huge risks bringing in Brooks and Cassell to play most of the 4th quarter, especially with a rookie Cassell. Brooks wasn't nearly as good as Kenny Smith and Cassell was unproven. Those guys hustle and energy though revitalized the Rox when they needed it. If you look at what's been happening to the Rox all season they start to fatigue in the 4th allowing other teams to come back. A set of fresh legs coming off the bench pushing the ball would go a long way to letting the Rox close out games.

Of course there are risks but when you see a problem you should take some risks.

 

I wouldn't go as far as Tinman and say Kenny Smith is a hall of famer but he didn't need to be for the Rox. The Kenny Smith of NCAA and early NBA days was already on the downhill by the time he got to the Rox and within two years he was more like a Bi-Plane than a Jet. On a team though with Dream, Mad Max, and later Drexler Kenny Smith had a clear role that suited him. He was a competent floor general who could hit the outside shot when needed and play the 2-man game with Dream. He didn't need to penetrate, although in his early days he was very good at that.

So yes he was a role player but a very good role player and its very doubtful the mid-90's Rox would've been as successful without him.

 

Is it me or do all those guys seem so much skinnier than NBA players today? Shawn Kemp was a powerful player but in that video he looks like a bean pole compared to the Dwight Howards of today.

 

I didn't start watching the Rockets until the year before the first Championship.
The main thing I remeber about Kenny was that his nickname was not the Jet.
The second thing I remember was my friends all wanting to trade him because he was soft and he took minutes from Cassell.
He could hit the three though. I remember that when his legs went under and in front of his body, it was going in.
But Max, Horry, Elie and Sam could hit the three too. We had a really good team.
Kenny was probably my least favorite player on that really good team.

 

Basically, if someone disagrees with you regarding the standing of a player it's hate? Sounds like someone is using his heart and not his brain here. You are confusing being a role player on a championship with being a great player. Yes, all players who are on the roster of a championship play an important role, but to say Kenny was a "GREAT" player just isn't accurate. The Rockets needed a spot up, efficient outside shooter to team with Dream and Kenny played that role adequately. There were 10 other guys in the league that could have also fulfilled that role. By your definition then does that make Ricky Blanton a "GREAT" player as well? He played on the 1992-1993 Bulls team that won a championship. He's "GREAT" right?

 

Amen, pretty accurate recollection.

 

the nickname predates his rocket days

 

Vspan >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Kenny Smith

 

Another thing that is forgotten about Kenny Smith was how much he helped Cassell develop his game. Kenny Smith also was a consummate team player who never begrudged turning over the reigns to Cassell late in the game.

 

Ricky Blanton was a winner. He shut down Kenny "Sky" Walker of Kentucky to send LSU to the Final Four, the lowest seed ever to make it there. Blanton was NOT the center that year, but LSU's center was hurt and they had no choice but to play slow white boy Blanton on the great SkyWalker and he shut him down. That's greatness to me, at least at the collegiate level. He also hit the gamewinner against Georgetown in the tournament. No he never made it in the pros, but that's because he was undersized and underskilled for the NBA, but he was a winner and LSU fans remember him as a great player.

 

Firstly, Vspan has not proven in the NBA to compare to Kenny Smith. He may be better than 10 "jets" but Vspan doesn't belong in this conversation... yet.

Secondly, Kenny was one of the best examples of how a role player can make or break a team. He made his contributions here, and some of them were in a path to get to championship rings, but he was by no means the focal point of our offense or defense. The Rafer's and ChuckHayes' and everyone not named Yao or Tmac should take to heart what Kenny brought to us in those championship years and realize that playing within a role can lead to greatness for a team.

That said, by the second title year here, Kenny was losing confidence controlling the ball up the court, and it showed... and other teams knew it. By the end of that season, just seeing him bring the ball up made you nervous. Turnovers were frequent.

One of you stats guys post turnover numbers for him? I'm not saying they're astronomical, but my guess is that they got worse as his years here went on, or maybe just by that last season or two.

He was the beginning of the "We need a point guard that can handle the ball" years, as I recall.... but that doesn't mean he didn't contribute here or that he had no skill.

I think people have less respect for him than some because he touts his rings as a tribute to his success, and while he does give credit to Hakeem and others, he seems less humble about it than someone like Clyde Drexler, who was a huge contributor and go to guy but acts as though he was just riding Dream's shoulders. Then the whole "Jet" thing... I don't know. It's superficial, but he like rubbing the rings in Chucks face (who wouldn't) and it smacks of hubris, when we all know that, for all his skills and contributions, he was a roleplayer here. Then of course there's the fact that he doesn't comment on the rockets like he's a homer for us (he used to a bit, but got over that... maybe people complained... maybe he realized it was a smart move for an analyst) problem is these days he seems as negative about us as the rest of the media.

My two cents. That is all. Rip away, Tinman.