Enjoying the ride

If this is a dream, don't wake me up.

Don't look now, but the Boston Celtics are a season-high six games over .500. And considering everything this team has gone through, that's quite an accomplishment.

Let's take a moment to recap some of the highlights of this inexplicable journey.

They endured a brutal five-game-in-seven-night stretch on the road, and came away 2-3. They withstood Steph Curry -- after putting in the NBA's sole 50 point performance so far this season two nights before on the game's biggest stage -- and the rest of Mark Jackson's Warriors, pulled out two back-to-back wins on the road, and have won four straight.

They're a game back of Brooklyn in the loss column for the fourth seed and, if they continue to play at this level, have a chance to catch Indiana (23 losses) for the third seed in the East.

But let's not get too greedy.

Things are going to get tough -- haven't they been tough all year? -- in the immediate future when Boston takes on three (Oklahoma City, Miami, Atlanta) of the best eight teams in the league in their next six games. The Heat are winners of 16 straight and look scary as hell. The Thunder are still the Thunder, and the Hawks look like a force to be reckoned with.

It's safe to say that the Celtics will level off at some point, but when will that be? It's safe to assume that most expected the Celtics to rally together after Rondo's injury and go on a bit of a run. But did we really think it would last this long?

They're 13-4 without their point guard.

But it's not just him. They lost Jared Sullinger and Leandro Barbosa, two of their top contributors off the bench.

No matter.

They filled out their bench with three NBA vagabonds who found their way to China.

Jeff Green is finally proving he was in fact worthy of being Boston's highest-paid bench player, Jason Terry still has the clutch gene, Avery Bradley is leading the Celtics defense (according to Kevin Garnett) and is averaging 15.3 points during the team's four-game winning streak, and Doc Rivers and company are getting every last ounce of basketball that Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce have.

The reason the Celtics have continued to thrive is a combination of two factors: mental toughness and cohesion. Besides the 2007-2008 season, the Celtics have had a major injury derail their chances at making a legitimate playoff run.

Let's take a look at their injuries:

* In 2008-2009, Kevin Garnett went down with bone spurs in his right knee and was forced to miss 25 games and all of the playoffs.

* In 2009-2010, Kendrick Perkins tore his right ACL in Game Six of the NBA Finals and missed Game Seven.

* In 2010-2011, Rajon Rondo dislocated his left elbow in Game Three of the East semis, and Shaquille O'Neal missed 27 games due to an Achilles injury and only saw a total of 12 minutes in the playoffs. Perkins was traded to the Thunder at the trade deadline, and Danny Ainge banked on O'Neal's return to help the Celtics in the paint.

* In 2011-2012, Avery Bradley went down in the East semis after his shoulders continued to pop out.

Just imagine what the Celtics could have done with a healthy roster over the past four seasons.

On the bright side, they've always advanced past the first round in each of the past five seasons.

So why should we expect anything different this season?

Regardless of this season's outcome, there's one thing I can guarantee: it's going to be a fun ride.