The Lakers and the other two teams in the Rockets' way

It's not necessary to check major NBA sites, or Vegas sportsbooks, to know which teams are projected to face each other in the Western Conference Finals.

The same two as last May and June.

The San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder -- in either order -- are prohibitive favorites to reach the same series again, and it's hard to argue otherwise, even if the Thunder dealt away some depth this offseason. (The Spurs, on the other hand, added useful forward Tobias Harris for nothing).

So while the East is expected to be a scrum -- with 10 teams capable of posting .500 records even as they'll all beat up on each other -- the West seems fairly simple. The Spurs. The Thunder. Everyone else.

But can the Rockets surge to the top of the everyone else group, and loom as the primary threat to either of those titans should they be befallen by injury or inconsistency?

That should be the goal this season.

And for that to happen, there are three teams in particular that the Rockets must rise above.

1. Minnesota Timberwolves

Anthony Edwards — IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Rockets went 1-2 against the Wolves last season, but all three games were tight, with one going to overtime. Minnesota will look somewhat different; they brought in highlight reel LaMelo Ball to get Anthony Edwards off the ball more, but they lost big pieces of their frontcourt, in Julius Randle and Naz Reid. Houston, unlike many teams, has someone (Amen Thompson) who can at least give Edwards a little trouble, but Minnesota still has Jaden McDaniels to try to stick with Kevin Durant. Houston seems like more of a stable play, with some additions (the returns of Fred Van Vleet and Steven Adams, plus Marcus Smart), while Minnesota may have more variability. This likely looms as the Rockets' biggest threat to the third spot in the West, provided Edwards and Ball coalesce quickly.

2. Denver Nuggets

Nikola Jokic — IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Houston lost three of four to Denver, but the Nuggets may be a little more vulnerable now. Tim Hardaway Jr. (third in Sixth Man of the Year voting) and rising forward Peyton Watson are gone; veteran scorer DeMar DeRozan seems like a decent fit, but it's hard to say for sure. This, of course, comes down to how the Rockets handle the sublime Nikola Jokic; at least they've got more bodies now, with Adams and Clint Capela behind Alperen Sengun. It's Sengun, though, who must most step up. He can't necessarily match the Nuggets center, but needs to come close.

3. Los Angeles Lakers

Austin Reaves — IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

We know what happened. After going 1-2 in the regular season against Los Angeles, the Rockets stumbled all over themselves in dropping 4 of 6 in the first round to the Lakers. They did so even with Luka Doncic out. Now Doncic is fully healthy again, but LeBron James (who had a renaissance as a first option for much of that series) is gone. There's more being put on Austin Reaves, as well as high-priced newcomer Walker Kessler. On paper, the Rockets look better than the Lakers overall, but Doncic is the wild card. He may be headed for an easy scoring title. And James' poor on-off number suggest the Lakers may be better in some ways without him. We'll see.

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