Paul Pierce: Blazers are the best eighth seed in NBA history

The day after both top NBA seeds were toppled by their respective opponents, The Jump’s Rachel Nichols, Paul Pierce and Brian Windhorst discussed which of the Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks should be more concerned. Pierce laughed and said it was an “easy call”, claiming the Portland Trail Blazers were more than just an eighth seed and, if healthy throughout the season, would have been top four in the west.

“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.”

Windhorst chimed in to mention that while the Lakers didn’t play well, neither did the Blazers, including Damian Lillard.

“The Blazers don’t win games when they shoot 38 percent because they’re generally a poor defensive team. Dame Lillard was awesome in hitting a couple of big shots at the end, but by his standards, it was a below-average game. That’s right, 35 points is below average for Dame in the Bubble;e.”

You can view the full episode of Wednesday’s The Jump here, or below. The Blazers-Lakers discussion takes place around the five-minute mark.