"They Don't Have Flies At The Picnic": Kenny Smith Uses Bizarre Analogy To Describe Lakers' Defensive Flaws

Kenny Smith is known for many things on “Inside the NBA”: running to the board, instigating fights, and getting Charles Barkley to kiss a certain mammal during Yao Ming’s rookie season. Much to the chagrin of the other “Inside” fellows, Smith is also notorious for his questionable analogies.

This past weekend, “The Jet” thought that he was making himself perfectly clear with another figurative expression. Talking about the Los Angeles Lakers’ flaws, Smith had this to say: “They don’t have any flies at the picnic. No one’s gonna bother you. You’re gonna eat in peace.”

While guest panelist Chris Webber kept his silence, Smith’s longtime partners weren’t going to let this slide. “You haven’t come up with an analogy in a while, and I like that one!” Ernie Johnson said with just the slightest tone of sarcasm. Taking a more straightforward approach, Shaquille O’Neal waved off EJ’s comments: “Stop it, Ernie. Shutthehellup.com.”

Realizing the gap in comprehension, Kenny decided to make himself more plain. “You eat in peace on the offensive end…I don’t think you can do that after the first round [of the playoffs]. You have to be able to stop people.”

Though “flies at the picnic” might make NBA fans pause for a minute, no one can deny that the Lakers have serious problems to fix on the defensive end. As Smith went on to point out, the purple and gold squad are particularly vulnerable in two areas: containing opponents’ three-point shooting percentage (they’re 21st in the league) and limiting opponents’ fastbreak points (16th in this regard).

When the Lakers reached the playoffs last season, they ran into a lengthy Minnesota Timberwolves squad that gave them major problems inside the paint. Nearly a year later, the Lakers have left this flaw mostly unfixed; despite the arrival of 7-foot center Deandre Ayton, the team allows opponents to score 51.0 points per game in the shaded lane (18th in the league).

Smith’s analogy makes sense after all: Teams that square off against the Lakers get to set up a picnic on the perimeter or in the interior, and they get to feast without being bothered too much. After all this years, “The Jet” is still flying over our heads.