Paul Pierce predicts first-round exit for Clippers: 'They're collapsing'

No title contender has seen its stock drop as quickly as Los Angeles. Since the All-Star break, the Clippers are 1-9 against winning teams and 8-10 overall. 

The Clippers' mediocrity can be summed up by their net rating of -2.2 since the break. Only teams in the lottery typically have a negative points differential. While some may attribute the Clippers' woes to the season's dog days, Celtics legend Paul Pierce feels the team doesn't have "a switch" it can utilize to flip a turnaround ahead of next month's playoffs. Pierce is convinced the Clippers are done.

"I see a team that's probably going to be a first-round exit," Pierce said on Tuesday's "Undisputed" on FS1. "We're at the end of the year and I'm hearing words like 'no identity,' 'we're soft' and 'we don't hustle.' That's not what you want to hear with 10 games left in the season.

"They're collapsing. They're falling apart at the wrong time," Pierce continued. "This is when you want to come together and know who you are. I just have no faith in the Clippers at this point. I don't want to hear a coach say 'we're soft.' I really see the Clippers just... maybe start making vacation plans. The way it's right now, they'll be one-and-done in the playoffs."

Back in February, Tyronn Lue's squad briefly clinched the No. 1 seed and seemed primed to at least finish a top-3 seed in the West. Now, the fifth-seeded Clippers face the looming threat posed by the streaking Kings and Mavericks, who sit two games behind in sixth and seventh, respectively.  

If the Clippers don't wake up soon, they could be in a play-in scenario. 

Even if they hold onto the fifth seed, they will likely square off against the Pelicans, a team that beat them 3-1 in the regular season series. This is not a good omen if you're a Clippers fan.