Rockets vs. Nuggets: Carbon Copy?
The Houston Rockets, along with the other 28 teams that didn't win a title last season, are chasing the Denver Nuggets, as they hope to become the first repeat champions since the Golden State Warriors back in 2017-18.
The Nuggets are built with an offensive-plus guard, a strong defensive-minded forward and a great passer for a center. Sound familiar, Rockets fans?
"If you squint, you can almost see the outline of the Denver Nuggets squad that just won the title in those four names," Bleacher Report writes. "The best-case version of Green could be a dynamic scoring guard like Jamal Murray. Şengün probably isn't going to win back-to-back MVPs at any point in his career, but he's a playmaking 5 who idolizes Nikola Jokić. Smith can be a high-level, power forward-sized floor spacer. And the comparison may sort of fall apart here, since Thompson is more of a creator than Aaron Gordon, but both are top-tier athletes."
Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green driving to the basket while being defended by Denver Nuggets guard Bruce Brown.
Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
The Nuggets don't provide the only blueprint to win in the NBA, but it is ironic how the Rockets have so many similarities. That should be encouraging moving forward.
Granted, the NBA is constantly evolving. The 2022-23 Nuggets may not have won a title when Stephen Curry and the Warriors were at their peak five years ago or if LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers were a little more like their COVID bubble selves.
That means this formula may not produce a winning team when the Rockets are a little bit more baked. However, Houston has a path towards becoming a great team, and taking a page out of Denver's playbook may not be a bad idea.
