The Denver Nuggets have been one of the NBA’s biggest surprises this year as they have cruised through the regular season atop the Western Conference standings for much of the season. Most recently, the Nuggets clinched a spot in the playoffs for the first time since 2013 after a win over the Boston Celtics on Monday night.

Despite all of their success so far this year, and the potential that they have with all of their talent, Paul still thinks it’s possible they exit in the first round of the playoffs because of their lack of experience in the postseason.

“I think they can make it to the conference finals, but I also look at this team as a team that could possibly lose in the first round,” Pierce said. “It’s all new to them. A lot of these guys have no playoff experience outside of Paul Millsap and maybe a couple of other guys. When you go into a new playoff environment, it’s a different type of pressure.”