2011 NBA Playoffs: Are the OKC Thunder the Biggest Threat to L.A. in the West?

Last year when the Thunder took the Lakers to six games in the playoffs, it gave them a lot of buzz. I thought that Kevin Durant and the Thunder were given a little too much credit too fast. While it is never easy to beat the Lakers, winning two games and losing four in the playoffs doesn't exactly mean you've arrived.

But things have changed for this young OKC team. And here's why I think they may be the most dangerous team in the conference to the defending champs.

You have to start with their two all-stars, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. It is a luxury to have two players on your roster who can post 30-40 points on a given night. The Durant-Westbrook punch is second on offense only to the Flash-King show in Miami.

Durant is very difficult to guard, whether you are Matt Carrol or Ron Artest. His consistency isn't quite there, and he needs to improve his passing, but anytime you have the league's best scorer against you, you should be worried.

The Durant-ula's maturity and leadership have also helped contribute to a great team chemistry.

Westbrook is a candidate for the NBA Most Improved Player award this year, and I think he may be an even bigger key to the team than Durant. His three-point shot is not yet great, but it is improved enough to where you have to respect it. He is very difficult to guard unless he has an off night.

Not only is Westbrook a good playmaker, he is probably the top rebounding guard in the NBA and is therefore a threat to get a triple-double at any given time. He is a matchup nightmare for many playoff teams, and especially for Derek Fisher and the Lakers.

Bringing in Kendrick Perkins may have been the best move of the season. He brings great post defense, championship experience and toughness to the team. He looks to be the missing puzzle piece for OKC and they are a different team with him on board.

A big part of the Perkins trade was that it allowed Serge Ibaka to slide to the starting power forward position. That is huge, as he no longer has to always guard the best post player, but can be ready to block shots and harass other players.

Ibaka may be the most underrated part of the team. Besisdes his defensive contributions, he also brings some offense. Many of his points are off alley-oops or put-backs, but he has shown the ability this year to knock down jump shots as well.

The defense that the Thunder bring with Perkins and Ibaka manning the post, lengthy Durant and defensive specialist Thabo Sefalosho on the wing, and Westbrook at point is not something I'd want to go up against. And any team with Durant and Westbrook is going to have decent offense.

The Thunder also have a great bench with Eric Maynor, James Harden, Daequen Cook, Nick Collison and Nazr Mohammed.

The Thunder should be able to take care of the Nuggets, have a shot against the Spurs, and finally, give the Lakers a run for their money.

They can match up great against the defending champs because they have the size to combat the Lakers, the guy (Westbrook) to take advantage of the lack of athleticism of the Laker point guards and superior depth.

If these two teams meet, it could come down to the Black Mamba and the Durant-ula. A battle for the ages.

Oh and one more thing: the Thunder have about 10 more years left of great basketball from their core...