The Rockets and Nuggets are ready to dethrone the Thunder out West

By adding Finney-Smith, the Rockets are building up their defense. Finney-Smith was the 25th in the league in Rim Diff% and ninth among non-centers. The Rockets were only 18th in the league in allowed points in the paint. Adding Finney-Smith should improve the Rockets' interior defense. 

Capela is a rebounding machine, leading the league in rebounding in 2021. The reunion with Capela builds on the team's strength in rebounding, as the Rockets led the league in offensive rebounds per game and total rebounds per game. Capela did take a dip in RPG, only averaging 8.5, but averaged 14.4 per 36 minutes, which would have been top five in the league if he played in a few more games to qualify. 

Then there are the 2023 NBA Champions, the Denver Nuggets, who went through a very rough two years since their championship. The front office and head coach were not seeing eye-to-eye, which ultimately caused both of their demises. Even with the turmoil, the Nuggets took the Thunder to seven games in the second round of the playoffs.

The first big move of the offseason was trading Michael Porter Jr. and an unprotected 2032 first-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets for Cam Johnson. The player swap was a big deal, but the most important piece of the trade was them saving around $17 million with the move. This allowed them to go out and add much-needed depth to a bench that was in the bottom five in bench PPG.  

The Nuggets were able to bring back Bruce Brown, a member of their title team, while also adding Jonas Valanciunas and Tim Hardaway Jr. to bolster the bench unit. 

Valanciunas is the perfect backup to Nikola Jokic, something the Nuggets have struggled to find. This past season, the Nuggets were -19 in offensive rating without Jokic on the court. Valanciunas can help alleviate the pain, as he averaged 9.7 PPG and 6.7 RPG when coming off the bench this season on 58.1 percent shooting while playing 16.6 MPG.

Another issue the Nuggets had was their lack of three-point shooting. The Nuggets were in the bottom three in both threes made and threes attempted. Johnson and Hardaway both fix that issue. Johnson shot 7.2 threes a game, shooting 39 percent. Hardaway shot 5.9 a game, while shooting 36.8 percent. Both players should help improve the shooting for a team that seemed allergic to shooting threes last season. 

The Nuggets and Rockets are both in a prime position to threaten the Thunder's hold on the conference. The Thunder are still overwhelming favorites to win the West, as they are +150 to win the conference on FanDuel, but the Nuggets and Rockets are both +500 to take the Western Conference crown. Both teams have loaded up their respective rosters to dethrone the champs.