Rockets vs. Nuggets: Carbon Copy?

The Denver Nuggets are the reigning NBA champions, and the Houston Rockets have shades of them in their current roster.

Jeremy Brener | Sep 24, 2023

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Houston Rockets

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."

Jalen Green Bruce Brown Nuggets — 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.

Published Sep 24, 2023

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.