The Thunder big man seems unintimidated by Lakers new roster; Says Thunder are the Western Conference champs and the team to beat.
As the new look Los Angeles Lakers continue to make waves around the NBA after the addition of Dwight Howard, there is one team that seems unfazed with what has been going on in Los Angeles.
Ever since the Lakers compiled a superstar roster during the off-season, the Oklahoma City Thunder have been the team that are said to be affected the most. After all, they are the reigning Western Conference Champions are the
team which has the most to lose if the Lakers clinch the top spot in the West.
However the Thunder feel that being the Western Conference champions they are the team to beat, and the Lakers have yet to prove anything on the court.
Thunder big man Kendrick Perkins knows a thing or two about Howard. As part of the Boston Celtics squad that had numerous encounters withOrlando Magic in the Eastern Conference over the last few seasons, Perkins has squared off
against Howard many a times. The two teams played against each other in 24 regular season games and played two playoff series, and Perkins was the Celtics go-to guy when it came to defending Howard.
“I knew the hype was going to be over there on that end and all that. But I'm glad the attention is off us because we're the type that likes to put our hard hats on and do stuff and keep it under the radar. And at the end of the
day, when you look at the box score, Oklahoma won. That's the way we like to keep it,” said Perkins recently.
Now that Howard is with the Lakers, Perkins will once again renew his rivalry with Howard and be even more valuable to the Thunder if they want to repeat their playoff performance from last season and reach the NBA Finals yet again.
But Perkins is not convinced that the Lakers are the team to beat in the West;
“We are the Western Conference champs. So at the end of the day, we're not chasing nobody except for the ring. We're chasing Miami to get a championship,” said Perkins.
The battle for the Western Conference crown is going to be exciting and thrilling next season, as there are so many teams that have a chance of finishing with a top 3 seed. It all depends on how they play on the floor, as the time
of talk is nearly over and the season is about to start.
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