Five Celtics questions as we put on our non-prescription glasses and take a look at what just happened and what will happen with this team ...

1. Is the title window closed?

Yup. Come on, we all know that. This group has lost to the Heat the last two seasons and there is no reason to think things will suddenly change should the two teams meet again in the playoffs next June. Sure, injuries have been a huge factor in both series losses to the Heat. But Ray Allen or Kevin Garnett or Paul Pierce (or two of them, or all of them) will be hurt at this time next year. By NBA standards these are old guys, and LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh are squarely in their prime. This is how it goes in the NBA -- the older team hands the keys over to the younger team. The 76ers did it to the Celtics, the Celtics did it to the Pistons, the Pistons to the Bulls. Maybe we just saw it with Oklahoma City beating both Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan. The difference with these Celtics is that they have been tougher to shove off the stage. Usually the older team loses and isn't really relevant in the title picture again. The 2012 Celtics -- out in five to the Heat the summer before -- sure looked to be following that script for the first half of this season. But don't let this terrific run and whatever affection you have for this team cloud reality. The C's final chance to get past Miami was on Saturday night, tied 73-73 with 12 minutes left. That was their moment. And the Celtics looked old, and LeBron, Wade and Bosh were the three best players on the court. 

2. So, why not blow it up?

Because it doesn't work that way. We've been spoiled around here the last decade or so, a season doesn't have to be validated by winning the final playoff game of the season. This team is a perfect illustration of that. The Celtics got five years of title relevancy with Garnett-Allen-Pierce, which is at least two more than any reasonable expectation. So now you'll probably have to sit out of the dance for a couple of years. But that doesn't mean a staggering overreaction is in order. We'll have to see him without the Big Three to know for sure, but the story of this postseason is the near-confirmation that Rajon Rondo is as good as any point guard in the NBA. You're not going to trade him in an attempt to tank and land a franchise-changer with the No. 1 pick. First, Rondo might be better than that player. Also this: You can go 22-60 and wind up with the third pick, or 32-50 and get the eighth pick. And where are you at that point? Unless Rondo is the world's biggest pain in the ass and has crossed some point of no return with Doc Rivers and Danny Ainge, he's going absolutely nowhere. And keeping Rondo means you're not blowing it up.

3. Any problem with Rondo and Garnett blowing off the Heat at the end of Game 7?

Look, in a perfect world should they stick around, shake some hands, hand out a couple of half-hugs and then go to the locker room with the rest of their teammates? Of course. Did it look good? Not really, it had a whiff of Isiah Thomas and the Pistons bolting early against the Bulls. But I also don't think Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett are particularly interested in earning any good sportsmanship medals. They don't like LeBron, don't like Wade, and really don't like losing to LeBron and Wade. So they left the court instead of engaging in what would have been a phony and disingenuous postgame interaction with those guys. LeBron didn't stick around in 2010 to congratulate the Celtics, maybe that stuck with Rondo and Garnett. Who knows? But to read the take of some members of the media on this you would have thought Rondo and Garnett pulled a Kermit Washington on Wade and James. The thin-skinned, ultra-sensitive knights of the keyboard weigh in again. Watch some of these guys freak out when they run out of pizza in the media dining room and tell me they should be allowed to lecture on matters of handling a loss. Let's all have a little perspective, talk about trying to force a story. It was immature, it was poor sportsmanship, but it's a non-issue. 

4. Will the Heat beat the Thunder?

Quick non-Celtics detour: If Chris Bosh can be an 18-8 guy for six or seven games, they have a very live shot to win the series. Bosh clearly was the difference in Game 7, but in 42 combined minutes in Game 5 and Game 6 he had 16 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks. Still not sure why he sat down the stretch in Game 5. I'm picking the Thunder in seven, though. The stars on the two teams are basically a wash, and I just don't think the Heat will have an answer inside for Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins.   

5. What will the Celtics look like next season?

Ray Allen is a goner. I don't think the Celtics want him back and I don't think he wants to be back. Watching James Jones, Mike Miller and Shane Battier (until Game 7) miss open 3-pointer after open 3-pointer makes Miami the perfect fit for Allen, right? See, that's why he hung around to talk to the Heat players after Game 7. The Celtics found something with Avery Bradley, and he has to play significant minutes. Allen isn't going to come off the bench for 20 minutes when he can play more and make more money for a team that can win a championship. Will a two-year deal be enough to keep Garnett? He's going to have the opportunity to make more money somewhere else, he'd be a natural for the Spurs or Lakers, just to name two other teams with title aspirations. Garnett is the key, if he comes back and is even close to the player we saw over the last couple of months this is still a top three or four team in the conference. Does Philly or Indiana -- two nice teams but seriously lacking in star power -- scare you? Miami is better, Chicago will be better when Derrick Rose comes back, but that's it. A team with Garnett, Pierce, Rondo, Bradley, Jeff Green (maybe) and a minor free agent or two to upgrade this bench could win 50 games or so for the next couple of years and prove to be an entertaining distraction as Ainge tries to figure out what the next six or seven years will look like. And if Garnett leaves or retires, this team will do well to make the playoffs, and the desire to rebuild will accelerate. Pierce isn't leaving, Rondo isn't leaving, Doc and Danny aren't leaving. If you accept that Ray Allen isn't going to return, the only offseason question that really matters is the future of Garnett.