1. The Celtics are out to a 22-2 start. Are they playing better now than they did last season?

Jeff Clark: Hard to tell really. The numbers seem about even, and if you had asked me a couple weeks ago, I'd say "no" because they weren't blowing the doors off of teams like they did early on last year. Then a few easy victories and a 15-game winning streak is making them look like they've hit their stride.

Everyone thought that the first year would be about getting to know each other and the 2nd year would be when they'd compete for a title. Of course they had other plans and got the title right away. Can they be better than last year's team? Hard to improve much on the regular season record, but they have room to improve in the playoffs. The first two rounds were more of a struggle than they anticipated.

2. There has been a lot of talk about Rajon Rondo's performance this year. What specifically has he improved on from last season?

Jeff Clark: I'd say that he's just been more confident, which makes him more aggressive, which makes him more effective. He showed flashes of it all year last year, but at times he deferred to the Big 3 too much.

Now he's got the confidence to take over the flow of the game and push the ball up the court. When he is doing that, even off of made baskets, he puts the pressure on the opponents' defense and creates open looks for his teammates.

3. James Posey was the biggest loss in the offseason. Has the team missed his contributions much?

Jeff Clark: I went into this in great detail here: http://www.celticsblog.com/2008/12/12/690524/ring-around-the-posey ...but the gist of it is this: Yes, no, and maybe.

I would say that he's missed from a personal standpoint. Fans loved watching him and teammates loved playing with him. He hasn't been missed on the court thus far. The record speaks for itself and the primary worry was how the 2nd unit would fill in for his departure. So far Tony Allen, Eddie House, and Leon Powe all seem to have stepped up to be more consistent performers than last year.

The real test, of course, will be the playoffs. Posey was a solid veteran who had been there before and had ice in his veins when it came to the big moments. Eddie and Leon played big time last year, but Tony was an afterthought (still sort of getting up to speed after missing a lot of time in recent years). When the team really needs a bucket or a stop in the playoffs, that's when you'll see if Posey is missed or not.

4. How reasonable a goal is 70 wins for this team?

Jeff Clark: I don't see that as a goal per se. I don't think this team cares about records or milestones outside of home court advantage. With that said, I'm sure they focus on winning every game, and with this win streak, who can say it isn't possible?

That said, I can't see them going all season without someone on the Big 3 taking a few days off to recover. Keep in mind they rested a lot of people for the last couple of weeks last year and still ended up beating just about everyone they met. Then they started off the playoffs rusty and maybe regretted the extra time off. So who knows?

5. Kevin Garnett is known as perhaps the biggest trash talker in the league. Ummm, what's his deal?

Jeff Clark: His deal is that he's a nut-job. Completely bonkers. And of course I love him for that.

For one thing, KG has always been a trash talker. He's always had some odd antics (like crawling on all 4's on defense). But all that plays into what he does to hype himself up. I think it sometimes hypes up his teammates and occasionally intimidates his opponents, but most of all I think he does it for himself.

Some are making the case that he's doing it more this year than in the past. Perhaps. I tend to think he's just getting more publicity for it this year with the added exposure of being on a winning Boston area team. But even if he is getting "worse" about the talking and taunting, I'm sure it is because he feels the need to motivate himself in different ways. He no longer has that elusive first ring to strive for. So similar to how Jordan used to invent slights to motivate himself, KG is looking to pick a fight (so to speak) with anyone and everyone. I just hope he doesn't take it too far and get himself suspended for more than a game here or there.