Paul Pierce expressed his concern for the Los Angeles Lakers after the first seed lost in Game 1 to the Portland Trail Blazers. For the former NBA player turned analyst, the Trail Blazers are not just any team. And the Lakers have a real chance of losing to the eighth seed.
Pierce was speaking with Rachel Nichols and Brian Windhorst on ESPN's The Jump when he uttered the bold missive. From his observation, the Blazers plummeted to the eighth seed primarily due to injuries. But now that the roster is healthy, Damian Lillard and crew have all the tools to boot out LeBron James' Lakers.
“This is not your normal eighth seed, where the one seed just sweeps by them in four or five games. No — this team is going to put up a fight. I’m concerned about the Lakers, they may go down in history as the third team to lose to an eighth seed in the first round because this is the best eighth seed that the NBA has ever seen, in NBA history.”
The other first seeded teams who lost to the eighth seed in the first round are the 2007 Golden State Warriors and the 2011 Memphis Grizzlies. The Warriors, led by Baron Davis, Stephen Jackson, and Jason Richardson, upset the Dirk Nowitzki-led Dallas Mavericks squad in six games. The Grizzlies, which featured Mike Conley, Zach Randolph, and Marc Gasol, beat the Tim Duncan-led Spurs squad in six games as well. Will the Blazers join the ranks of these legendary teams?
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