Paul Pierce thinks 1 top playoff team will be upset in first round

Jul 10, 2019; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Former basketball player Paul Pierce arrives on the red carpet at Microsoft Theatre. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Paul Pierce has an ominous prediction for one top playoff team.

Pierce was a guest on his friend Kevin Garnett’s “KG Certified” show on Showtime. The two discussed the NBA landscape and brought up the playoffs. Pierce shared that he thinks one team is going to be upset in the first round — the Denver Nuggets (beware of the cursing in the video).

“I think somebody in the top three seeds going to get upset in the first round,” Pierce said of the Western Conference. “Denver is going to be the No. 1 seed. I think Denver is the most likely out of the top three seeds to get popped in the first round. If the Denver Nuggets see the Lakers, if they see Golden State, they gonna get popped in the first round.”

The Nuggets have made the playoffs four seasons in a row. They were eliminated in the second round twice, the conference finals once, and last year they were knocked out by the Warriors in the first round. Pierce isn’t really saying anything different from what happened last year in the playoffs.

But Golden State seems weaker and the Lakers are not healthy. Meanwhile, the Nuggets have Jamal Murray this year after he missed all of last season due to his recovery from a torn ACL.

Those who are predicting Denver’s demise for the second year in a row might be very disappointed.