Rockets have already found their ideal playoff matchup before the season even begins

As the Houston Rockets enter the 2025-26 season, they will be facing down a gauntlet of teams in their attempt to push their way through the loaded Western Conference.

Yet, despite the presence of juggernauts such as the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Rockets may have already found their ideal playoff matchup in the Denver Nuggets, and, if they are able to get a top seed, their dream could become even more of a reality.

Although Houston fell to the Golden State Warriors in seven games last season, a revamped offense with the addition of Kevin Durant should place them among the favorites to make a deep playoff run, and crossing the Nuggets on their path to the Finals could be an ideal outcome.

The Denver Nuggets could surprisingly be an ideal playoff matchup for the Houston Rockets

As the Rockets moved to the forefront of the Western Conference last season, it was the full manifestation of their hard-nosed, defensive identity that carried them as far as they got.

Yet, when playoff time came, their lack of a go-to scorer on offense ultimately prevented them from scoring sufficiently in the clutch against a defensively-talented Golden State team. With Durant on the team now, however, the hope is that they will also be able to match up offensively against almost any team in the league.

In this sense, the Western Conference is absolutely packed with teams that are frightening matchups in the playoffs, and, in order to make any sort of run, you will have to face at least one, if not two, of them. From among this crop, which includes teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Los Angeles Clippers and the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Nuggets might be the most favorable matchup the Rockets can find.

For starters, emerging superstar Alperen Sengun just put his ability to contend with, and at times dominate, Nikola Jokic on full display in EuroBasket. In their matchup in the group stage of the tournament, Sengun was just two assists shy of becoming the fifth player in Eurobasket history to post a triple-double, accumulating 28 points, 13 rebounds, and eight assists in Turkey's 95-90 victory over Serbia.

Moreover, apart from Aaron Gordon, Denver has almost no one who could contend with Durant and perhaps interfere with his shooting stroke.

Finally, although the Nuggets brought in Cam Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas this offseason to help fill out their rotation, their roster greatly suffers from a general lack of depth. As was proven in last year's NBA Finals, depth becomes paramount in the playoffs, and Houston has one of the deepest benches in the league as it stands.

While teams such as the Warriors, Thunder or Timberwolves might present more advanced challenges because of their faster paces of play and deeply competitive defenses, the Rockets will be in good shape if they can match up against Denver in the second round or later.