NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal believes that what's preventing Boston Celtics from performing up to par is mentality.

On NBA on TNT, O'Neal believes that if the Celtics can just put on the same mentality as the defending champions Golden State Warriors, then they'll be his favorite team in the Eastern Conference. Per boston.com:

“They’re, in my opinion, right under Toronto as the second team in the East, but if they can get it together and have the same mentality as Golden State, they are my favorites in the East.”

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As of this writing, the Celtics are fifth in the East with a 20-13 record. They have won seven of their last 10 games. They showed some inconsistency in the first few games of the season. But towards the end of November and mid-December, the Celtics picked up the slack and won as much as eight straight games.

The Celtics are easily of the best teams in the NBA. Much of the credit goes to head coach Brad Stevens, who's been able to effectively utilize his talented team. For the past two seasons, they've crawled all the way to the Conference Finals. Last year's feat was particularly spectacular since they did it without stars Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving.

Time will only tell if they can replicate this success this season. For the time being, they might need to reflect upon O'Neal's advice.