This Celtics second half surge is very familiar...

A few days ago I published a post called "Explaining 12-4 without Rondo."  Well now the C's are 14-4 without their All-Star point guard, and the mystery continues.  Here's another possible explanation for their recent stellar play that I neglected to offer: What if it has absolutely nothing to do with Rajon Rondo one way or the other?  Maybe it's just that time of year again.

Last season the Celtics were 15-17 shortly before the midway point (they only played 66 games due to the lockout).  But from then on out they went 24-10, and finished with a 39-27 record.  Boston again stumbled along for roughly the first half of this year, going 20-23.  Since then they've won 14 of 18 to get to their current 34-27 mark.

The C's wins lately have had a bit of magic to them.  Somehow they keep pulling off dramatic victories that nobody ever would have expected just a short time ago.  At this rate, soon nothing they do will surprise us anymore.  Around this time last season I wrote a piece entitled "I have unlimited faith in the Celtics right now."  My motivation for it was an improbable overtime win against the Hawks at the Garden, the results of which also pulled Boston even with Atlanta in the standings.  Sound familiar?

Follow Mark on twitter @LucidSportsFan