Thunder C Kendrick Perkins Says OKC Is Chasing the Heat For a Championship, Not Lakers

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Many people are already jumping on the Los Angeles Lakers bandwagon in that they're the team to beat in the Western Conference after acquiring such players like Dwight Howard, Steve Nash and Antawn Jamison.

Even Lakers forward Metta World Peace is dubbing that his team will not be beat for the upcoming season.

However, for Oklahoma City Thunder center Kendrick Perkins, he really isn't buying any of it.  For him, to get to an NBA championship, Perkins thinks he needs to get past the Miami Heat, not the Lakers.

“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," Perkins told Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman. "It’s no guarantee who is going to be where. But we earned the Western champs so we’re not chasing the Lakers, we’re chasing a championship and that’s what it’s about.

“I just said it’s time to go to work. 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.”

What do you think of Perkins' comments?

Josh Dhani is the founder of FootBasket. You can read more about him at his website. Follow him on Twitter @joshdhani.