Rockets should not worry about Western Conference rival's blockbuster addition

The Houston Rockets improved substantially this summer, but the Western Conference was never going to rest on its laurels. The conference is improving, but the Rockets don't need to worry about the Clippers' recent signing of Bradley Beal.

They have bigger fish to fry. The Rockets will struggle to overcome the Thunder. The Nuggets will also pose a challenge. That said, flipping Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks for Kevin Durant, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Clint Capela put the Rockets in a different world than the Clippers. Their acquisition of Beal does not change that:

He doesn't move the needle enough.

Rockets have advantages over Clippers

The Rockets were better than the Clippers last year. They made larger improvements in the summer. By simple logic, they'll be the better team next year.

Granted, they weren't much better. The Rockets won just 2 more games than the Clippers, and the Clippers surprisingly had a better Net Rating (4.9 vs 4.6). Rockets fans shouldn't be resting easily under the assumption that they'd beat the Clippers in a series.

Moreover, Beal isn't the only addition the Clippers have made this summer. They added Brook Lopez and John Collins as well. So, the question is this:

Who had the better summer?

Rockets should be favorites over Clippers

Let's take a look at some key counting stats and Box Plus/Minus's (BPM) of the major pieces each team added this summer.

New Clippers stats

Bradley Beal: 17.0 points per game (PPG), 3.7 assists per game (APG), 38.6 Three-Point Percentage (3PT%), -1.1 BPM

Brook Lopez: 13.0 PPG, 5.0 rebounds per game (RPG), 37.3 3PT%, 0.8 BPM

John Collins: 19.0 points per game, 8.2 RPG, 1.1 BPM

New Rockets stats

Kevin Durant: 26.6 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 43.0 3PT%, 3.2 BPM

Dorian Finney-Smith: 8.7 PPG, 41.1 3PT%, -1.5 BPM

Clint Capela: 8.9 PPG, 8.5 RPG, -1.0 BPM

Let's break that down.

The numbers indicate something we already knew: Durant is easily the best player to join either of these teams this summer. Any advantages that Lopez and Collins have over Finney-Smith and Collins are largely mitigated by the gap between Durant and Beal.

It should also be noted that Finney-Smith is a confusing player according to analytics. That BPM is highly mediocre, but the Lakers were +17.1 with Finney-Smith on the floor last year, and the Nets were +15.5 - both in the 99th percentile

Finney-Smith is the consummate role player. He doesn't rack up the counting stats that are reflected in BPM, but he helps everyone around him rack those stats up. If you're asking who the second-best player in this group is, one could make a case for Lopez or Collins, but they could make a case for Finney-Smith as well.

It should also be added that the Clippers acquired Beal to replace Norman Powell. With a 1.5 BPM, he was substantially better than Beal last year. The Clippers can justify trading him for a needed 4 in Collins, but the Rockets didn't make similarly lateral moves - they strictly upgraded.

So, the Rockets were already better, and they improved more. At this stage, Beal is more of a name than an impactful player. He could have a bounce-back year with the Clippers, but as of now, this isn't a substantial reason for Rockets fans to worry:

They should be focused on the Thunder (and maybe the Nuggets).