Though the Los Angeles Lakers have made the biggest splash thus far this off season with the acquisition of Steve Nash, Antawn Jamison, Jodie Meeks and Dwight Howard, the Lakers still may not be the best out west.
You can call me crazy if you want to but the Oklahoma City Thunder are still the best team in the Western Conference.
Though the Lakers have an All-Star-like starting lineup, OKC's starting lineup can still give the Lakers a run for their money.
Steve Nash vs. Russell Westbrook:
Steve Nash is without a doubt the better point guard, but Westbrook is clearly the better athlete. Westbrook, who is the second leading scorer on the Thunder, is younger, stronger and faster than Nash.
Westbrook wins the matchup simply off his ability to score and Nash's lack of defense on the court
Kobe Bryant vs. Thabo Sefolosha:
After last season NBA finals, Sefolosha has emerged to be a very valuable defender as he defended both LeBron James and Dwayne Wade during the series with the Miami Heat.
But Kobe Bryant didn't get nicknamed the "Black Mamba" for nothing. Throughout his career he's gone against various "Kobe stoppers" and still manages to be the deadly scorer that he is.
The only way Sefolosha wins this matchup is if Kobe's shot are just not falling, but besides that Kobe hands down.
Metta World Peace vs. Kevin Durant:
With all his strength and power, World Peace would prove to be a challenge to Durant's game.
But Durant's ability to move without the ball and his high arch release, the man can literally score at will. Standing at only 6'9", Durant has been called a seven-foot forward who moves like a guard.
The three-time NBA scoring champ wins the matchup over World Peace no question.
Pau Gasol vs. Serge Ibaka:
The matchup between these former Team Spain teammates will be the most interesting one.
Gasol was the leading scorer for Spain in the 2012 London Olympic games and has proven that his definitely one of the top big men in the world. If he finds a way to keep the momentum he had during the Olympics and bring it over to the regular season then I would say Gasol wins the matchup.
Only problem with that is Gasol returns to a Lakers team where he is not the first option. With Spain he was the first scoring option and he performed well. Now he heads back to the Lakers and has to adjust once more, and that may affect his game.
Ibaka is one of the league's best defenders and shot blockers, and if Gasol continues to being "soft" in the paint, Ibaka wins the matchup. Besides that this one is a toss-up.
Dwight Howard vs. Kendrick Perkins:
Howard is the best center in the league but his previous matchups against Perkins have shown his game is all but flawless.
Perkins' gritty style of defending has proven to be difficult for Howard in the past. And with Howard coming off of back surgery, things may have gotten a little more difficult for Howard.
Right now I have the matchup being a toss-up only because of the past experience these two have, but I won't count Howard out because he is the most dominating force with the ball under the basket.
Advantage Goes To: OKC
The Thunder have the ability to go on a 10-0 run in an instant with their age and speed at their advantage, that makes them an even more deadly team than the Lakers out west.
It will be youth vs. experience when the Lakers and the Thunder play. Youth typically has a hard time winning in this instance but the core guys of the Thunder have been playing with one-another for a while and have developed good team chemistry.
Needless to say, if both teams manage to make the Western Conference finals the series will be an historic one worthy to be remembered I'm sure.
