Celtics have entered the NBA contenders discussion

After a very poor start to their season the Boston Celtics have flipped the switch and are playing as good as anyone in the NBA now. So have we gone from the "experts" saying the C's must be blown up to legit NBA contenders? Yes we have.

The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor and NBC Boston's Chris Forsberg and Brian Scalabrine all agree in the video above that the Celtics are now contenders.

Now let's stress that "contender" and "favorite" are two different things. You can have six or 8 contenders. If the Celtics lose in the Eastern Conference Finals that doesn't mean they weren't "contenders."

Now do I think the Celtics are contenders and have a legit shot to win Banner 18 this season? Yes, but with a…