You might be conflating two different nights Rockets were on TNT (Rockets have been on national TV a lot) Kenny said Rockets have no chance when we lost on TNT When we dusted a team on TNT Kenny became a biased Rockets fan.
More and more, Kenny just seems to say what he knows his TNT/ESPN colleagues want to hear. Initially, I wasn't sure if it was due to his desire to not want to be perceived as a Rockets homer or if it was him merely wanting to be accepted and liked by the #hottake fan/media establishment. In light of the special season we're having, I'm now inclined to believe the former. I HAVE GROWN TO IGNORE KENNY SMITH.
Of course they're the favorite. But Kenny, Chuck, and Shaq still fall back on outdated talking points that make me question whether or not they even watch the games. Shaq says we can't play D like the Warriors. Our D is better than theirs this season. We added Paul, Tucker, and Luc, and Capela has continued to develop. Chuck has softened his stance somewhat, but he still tends to bash Morey and analytics. And Kenny keeps saying we can only beat the Warriors if Harden has 4 great games in a playoff series. That simply isn't true. It sure would help of course. But if the supporting cast is hitting their open 3's, James and CP3 take care of the ball, and the team plays defense like it's capable of doing, we're good enough to beat Golden State.
Currently watching only cuz I saw First Take trending on Twitter, Kenny and Shaq just stay hating especially that fkn traitor Kenny.... But at least Brain "No Neck" Windhorst" stayed neutral, said we're capable of beating them and can go either way (they have to shoot and defend well just like us to win 4).
OK, I can definitely see that. Good riddance then and enjoy slurping the Knicks and their treadmill of mediocrity.
That game deserves an incomplete. The Rockets were sans Harden and Luc. The Warriors were without Durant. It can't be overstated how important Mbah a Moute has been to the team this season.
Kenny did hit that incredible 3-pointer to send that game into overtime. Props to him. I also remember he took a backseat to a certain rookie pg in the 4th quarter of many if not all games starting in 1994.
Ditto. Kenny Smith does not hate Rockets. link: Why is the that when you say the truth, people will hate you? https://www.lookingforgod.com/questions-and-answers/category/98/question/1314/
1st in record 1st in point differential 1st in offensive rating (currently best in NBA history) 7th in defensive rating MVP front-runner and league scoring leader 1st and 2nd best isolation scorers in the league Practically unbeatable (28-1) and dominant ("best in NBA history" +13.9 differential) when their "big 3" are healthy 2-1 head-to-head vs defending champions Currently riding a 10 game win streak Honestly, the only significant, fair criticism against the Rockets right now is "I need to see it in the playoffs", which I think many here would agree with. But anyone who refuses to recognize and respect what they've achieved so far this regular season is a certified jackass.
I've repeated this ad verbatim all season. We are good, really good, unexpectedly good. But the Warriors have Curry, Thompson, KD, and Draymond. We have to play above our expectations and Warriors have to play below their expectations for us to beat them in a 7 game series. We have a better shot than anyone, but nobody is favorites against that stacked ass team. What I am very very happy about is our pace. We are putting up very efficient offensive numbers on an offense heavily reliant on isolation play and half court offense. Our fast breaks haven't been there as much this season yet our offense is just as good if not better than last season where we were running full speed. This is huge in the playoffs where the game will slow down. This + our improved defense has me optimistic about our playoff chances.
The reason I disagree with that this season is that the Warriors bench is not what it once was. Gone are the days of Livingston, Iggy(still in his prime), Barbosa, Ezeli, and Speights coming in and burying the opposition while the starters rested. The Rockets bench is better than Golden State's and that's before they added Joe Johnson and Brandan Wright.
