NBA: With Kendrick Perkins, Are the Oklahoma City Thunder Favorites in the West?

In the past few seasons in the Eastern Conference, former Boston Celtics center Kendrick Perkins quietly evolved from a fifth wheel on a three-wheel team to a respected post presence.

The 6'10" 280-pounder has never been a star, especially playing with the likes of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and emerging star Rajon Rondo.

The four players listed above are All-Stars.

Perkins doesn't have that type of pedigree, but even so, many considered the big man a key piece to the Boston Celtics' success.

With his move to Oklahoma City, that could very well change in Perkins' favor. He has a chance to be in the spotlight; Perkins gives the Thunder a dominating post man.

But is he really that guy?

Many are claiming the Thunder could very well be the new favorite to win the Western Conference now that Perkins is suiting up with them, but is that really the case?

I say no.

His production is nowhere near star-caliber. Yes, I know he was the fifth man on a stacked Boston team, but his points-per-game average has always hovered under 10.

Will Perkins have more of an impact in Oklahoma?

Well, how can he when he's joining a cast and crew including two players, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, averaging 28.6 and 22 points per game, respectively? Don't forget about Serge Ibaka and James Harden, either.

Perkins is about to be the fifth guy on the "favorite players" list again.

It appears his impact will be no different than it was in Boston. He's likely going to score around 10 points per game (or less) once again.

What this says about Perkins: he's really not going to change much about his new team. The players who will make or break the Thunder's hopes are Durant and Westbrook.

Will Perkins improve the team's overall post presence? Sure, he should, but claims that his addition skyrockets the Thunder's chances of a conference championship are way too premature.

The Thunder are currently 36-21. They're in fourth place behind the Lakers, Mavericks, and Spurs.

The Lakers have slumped lately, but you can't expect them to continue to struggle. Nor can you expect the Spurs to give up much ground.

While the success of the Thunder since their arrival in the Midwest has been a feel-good story—now topped off with a nice addition at center—they still have a mountain to climb if they want to make the NBA Finals.

Can they do it? Sure. Their youth and talent is dangerous enough to take down the "older" teams come playoff time.

But Perkins won't be the key ingredient.