The first few days following the trade, things didn't exactly look great. Johnson arrived in Phoenix, and looked strong. His first game, the next night, he poured in 23 points, tying his career-high. Two nights later, he scored a respectable 15 points. This is all while Delk scored 0-3-4-4 points in his first four games as a Celtic, while Rogers scored 0-2-9-9 points in his first four games in a Celtics uniform. Before they knew it, the Celtics were 0-4 since making the trade.

Then came a big game against the Philadelphia 76ers, the team directly below the Celts in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Not only did the Celtics take out the Sixers, 100-94, but also Rogers scored 15 points, and Delk added 12. They had arrived. Two nights later, at a home game against another team looking up at the Celtics in the playoff race, the Orlando Magic, the Celtics proved that they had become fully comfortable with the two new guys, and that they were not about to fade out of the playoff race, when they soundly defeated the Magic 130-110.

Remarkably, the final score doesn't even fully show the Celtics dominance in the game. They had lead by as much as 27, and didn't even play much of their starting five for the game's final quarter. When all was said and done, 9 of the 11 players in uniform for the Celtics had scored in double figures.

Then, two nights later, the Celtics were home once again, and on this night, the Celtics handed the Detroit Pistons a healthy loss, 117-92. In this game, they had leads by as much as 30. The Pistons, the second-best team in the Eastern Conference as of March 9, was dealt a solid loss, proving that the Eastern Conference is as wide open as it's ever been.

Only four games separate the second seed (Pistons) and the sixth seed (Magic). Right in the middle, the fourth-seeded Celtics, are in position to easily slip into the second seed, or if they stumble, into the sixth seed. That's how close the Eastern Conference is this year.

Contributing to the Celtics hot streak as of late had been much more than the traditional "Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker Show." In addition to Delk and Rogers, Kenny Anderson has been playing much better as of late, as has Vitaly Potapenko - who is filling in admirably for the injured Tony Battie.

Then there is Walter McCarty, a fan favorite for his great effort. Averaging 3.6 points for the year, Walter has averaged 11 points in the past three games. McCarty, taking full advantage of his new-found playing time, has become a legitimate threat beyond the three-point line, as well as a solid rebounder - something the Celtics need more of, and something that coach Jim O'Brien will keep Walter on the court for if he needs rebounds.

The past few games have also allowed explosive rookie Kedrick Brown to get some playing time, with the big leads at the end of games recently. Brown has shown he has some real raw talent, and has shown a lot of promise, including a big-time dunk Friday night against the Pistons. Brown just needs to get more playing time to become comfortable playing with the team in games. The Celtics have no doubts that Brown will be a key contributor in future years.

So, the Celtics - out of the playoffs since 1994 - have continued to hang right there in the middle of the playoff spots. They have not melted away, something they had done the past few years. This year, they are winning big games, and proving to the other teams in the NBA that they are a legitimate contender to go all the way to the NBA Finals.

It may sound crazy, but the "underdog" has been winning a lot lately. Just look at the Celtics' neighbor - the New England Patriots - 2001 Super Bowl Champions. The "underdog" has been lucky, and we all know the Celtics have that leprechaun luck on their side.

Everybody touch their lucky four-leaf clovers on three: one, two, three ...

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