I just got off a conference call with ESPN’s two marquee NBA analysts, Hubie Brown and Jeff Van Gundy, who jumped on the phone to answer the media’s questions concerning the teams and storylines that will emerge this season …

Starting with the returning champions, Hubie sees the Spurs as still in command of the West and the force.

“On the negative side, people will talk about their age,” Brown said. “How many players are over 30 years old in their rotation? But it is a team that is right at the top – probably the best-coached team in the league. They can play half court basketball and still get their three best scorers - Parker, Ginobili and Duncan - high percentage shots. Or they can play quick basketball, and by that we mean force the transition game, and still make things happen for their three best scorers.

“On top of all of that, they are an excellent three-point shooting team,” said Hubie. “They have the people who can come off the bench or in their starting units who might be limited in total athleticism, but shoot the three very well.”

In the East, Brown and Van Gundy tackled the teams with the biggest question marks: Miami and Cleveland. The Eastern Conference Finals reps in ’06 and ’07 are mired in controversy about their rosters when they probably should be focused on their opponents.

“The Miami and the Cleveland situations are the big questions in the East,” noted HB. “I want to know whether Cleveland is going to sign their two players who are their fifth and sixth players in their rotation. And the Miami situation – how many games is Shaq going to play? If Wade is going to be questionable and Shaq is only going to give you somewhere between fifty and sixty games, well I think you’re in a lot of trouble. Because you cannot take away the contributions last year at playoff time of Kapono, James Posey and Gary Payton - they were necessary specialists the year you won the championship. You have eliminated three major contributors, and also Doleac has left. Even though he didn’t get major minutes, when he did play he made a difference.”

Van Gundy piggybacked on the Hubie’s sentiment, noting that Ricky Davis is a necessary piece to try to keep the Heat afloat without Wade from the jump.

“Like Hubie said, you can’t lose as much as they lost, as Miami did, and not replace it with valid NBA scoring,” said JVG. “I think it shows that they don’t have complete confidence with Dorell Wright and his progress.”

The Knicks added substantial pieces – will they share the ball?

“You’ve got to be able to get Curry and Randolph on the same page whether you play hi-low, or however you want to play these two guys,” said Hubie. “The key for the Knicks is going to be, can they rebound the ball on a consistent basis? Then, can they improve their assists? If they improve their assists, you’re going to see the chemistry develop. Will Marbury pass the ball? Will Randolph force too many shots? Does Curry need the ball every opportunity down the floor? If you increase your assists and get the assists up there to 22-25, you will see this team play and have the chemistry.”

An interesting point from Hubie about the effectiveness of the team when Eddy Curry gets more minutes … on the bench.

“In the exhibitions, the team played much better when one of them was in the lineup – and basically that was Randolph,” said Hubie. “When Curry was out of the games, I thought that they had better production and the team functioned.”

They bounced over to the West and both agreed that the Lakers are far better off than Kobe or the media realize.

“I feel that he is the premier player in the league and he’s a fierce competitor,” said Brown. “Once the season begins, we’re going to forget about all this media or fan or problems that he has created by talking. It’s going to end. He’s going to play and he’s going to be focused.”

Brown must have been at the Lakers/Kings preseason game last week in which Andrew Bynum beasted Kenny Thomas, Shareef Abdur-Rahim and a brigade of undersized forwards:

“I would also realize that the younger players are getting better there,” said Brown. “And they really have some quality guys here right now with a lot of potential. This team has got to become a better rebounding team – but they have size… And they must become a better defense team – but they have the athletes to do that. I think that would eliminate a lot of the problems the Lakers are having outside the locker room.”

Van Gundy focused on the actual strategy instead of the speculation.

“I think that the bigger question is how Lamar Odom is coming back from injury. Lamar Odom is one of the most underrated players in the League. Handles so they know they don’t have to face pressure – he can score in the low post…He’s also their best rebounder.”