When the LA Clippers lost Paul George in the offseason, almost everyone was ready to write them off. Many believed they were going to be one of the worst teams in the Western Conference, helping the Oklahoma City Thunder secure a higher lottery pick.

Instead, the Clippers have defied everyone’s expectations and are currently in the sixth seed, just two games behind the Denver Nuggets for the fourth seed. Most recently, the team had an impressive win against the Milwaukee Bucks, snapping their five-game winning streak.

For those reasons, the Clippers have earned the respect of their early-season doubters, including Boston Celtics legend Paul Pierce.

During a segment on KG Certified, Pierce graded how the Clippers have performed so far this season, and he gave the team a resounding “A”.

“I got the Clippers at an A,” Pierce said. “I didn’t expect them to be here. When you lost Paul George, I thought they gonna be coasting. They not coasting. They ahead of teams I thought would be up there, Dallas, Minnesota. Now you got Kawhi back, they dangerous ‘bro.”

Over 40 games into the season, the LA Clippers are ahead of the following teams in the standings: Minnesota Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, Sacramento Kings, and Golden State Warriors.

It’s tough to say if the Clippers will finish the season ahead of those same teams, but no critic expected Norman Powell and Ivica Zubac to perform the way they are now. If no one could predict the Clippers getting this far, then they won’t really know how far they can actually go.

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