Playoffs?!

If the Celtics are to make the playoffs, it
will be mainly because of Brad Stevens
and Rajon Rondo.

Brad Stevens isn't used to this.

He's used to leading teams with championship aspirations.

Hell, even playoff aspirations.

But in his first season as an NBA head coach, Stevens has nearly as many losses (33) through 49 games as he did during his six-year, 215-game tenure as the head coach at Butler University (49).

This is uncharted territory for Stevens, and it appears the ship is sinking.

Or is it?

As ridiculous as it sounds -- and much to the chagrin of those who are rooting hard for the Celtics to tank -- the fact of the matter is that the Celtics are still in it.

Stevens did admit that "everybody is mathematically alive when you have 40 games left." He also called it "pretty ridiculous" that the Celtics still have a chance to make the playoffs with a 16-33 record.

But the fact is they do, and they know it, too. The C's have talked themselves into the possibility that they can seriously make a run at the playoffs.

"[Rondo] lets us know that anything is possible," Avery Bradley said after yesterday's practice. "If we come out strong [in the second half of the season], we have a chance to break off a run and win eight games straight if we play harder than everybody else."

Is this true, Rajon?

"We have an easy month [of February] as far as scheduling wise," Rondo said. "I think we only play 11 games this month of February. A lot of winnable games, so I don't think we could use the excuse of beating ourselves anymore. I think we need to come out and execute and try to get some wins. We're not too far out of the playoffs. Keep hope alive."

Here are the facts: the Celtics are 12th in the Eastern Conference standings, and they're five games behind the Charlotte Bobcats for the eighth and final playoff spot.

To follow up on Rondo's comment about the team's schedule in February, the C's play six of their 11 games at TD Garden. Six of the 11 games also come against sub-.500 teams

16 of their remaining 33 games come against teams with winning records. The C's have 17 home games remaining. They only have seven back-to-backs left, and only three of the 14 teams they will play in those back-to-backs have winning records.

In his updated playoff odds, ESPN's John Hollinger gave the Celtics a 6% chance of reaching the postseason.

With Rajon Rondo coming off his best game since his return from a torn ACL and Avery Bradley returning to action after missing five games with a sprained ankle, the time is now for this team to get hot.

Hey, KG said it best. Anything is possible.