Hubie Brown is never short of an opinion.
Turner Broadcasting's lead NBA analyst reels them off during a conference call that sounds very much like he's already into the season:
* "If I'm a Celtics fan, I'm accustomed to quality play, name players, All-Star performance. You don't have that in Boston anymore. No team can sustain [those] kinds of losses in the modern game. You don't rebuild quickly because there are too many average players on high-priced, long-term contracts. The question is what kind of a package can anybody put together to get real talent."
The Celtics, by the way, are only scheduled for one national Turner telecast in the regular season, Nov. 10 vs. the Orlando Magic at FleetCenter.
* "There's no doubt that the Chicago Bulls can put one of the greatest defensive teams ever assembled on the court. The excitement in Chicago is remarkable. They're talking about 65 or 70 wins and everybody will probably make them the consensus favorite. It all hinges on [Dennis] Rodman's ability to keep everything focused toward the goal of a championship."
The Bulls, it so happens, are featured opening night against Charlotte. Brown will be there for the 8 p.m. telecast that follows a one-hour NBA preview show.
* "I don't see any problem of player vs. player as a result of the union vote this summer, but the teams definitely lost something of the ability to assess free agents and second-round draft choices without summer ball. The major plus is that all of the first-rounders were in camp on day one. That means they will be able to contribute right away instead of playing the whole season trying to catch up."
And does that matter? Yes, says Brown.
"Nothing in high school or college ball prepares a player for the different sport a rookie encounters in the NBA. There are 70 guys over 7 feet tall in the league this season. That's a whole different world from what anybody got used to in school."
Yes, it seems like all the Turner folks have to do is make sure Hubie's microphone is on. He'll take care of the rest.
Brown's voluble style, analysis peppered with fact and opinion, will be a feature of TNT's Friday night telecasts when he teams with Bob Neal as one of the broadcast teams Turner Sports has assembled for its 12th NBA season. Hubie should be the straw that stirs that drink.
On TBS's Wednesday night telecasts, veteran Dick Stockton returns to the NBA (he was a regular when CBS had the rights in the 1980s) to work alongside Chuck Daly. That pair's season could well depend upon Stockton's ability to get gems from his partner, whose skills as an in-game analyst are still being honed.
Stockton, for one, says covering a major sport in this decade means that all broadcasters have to be more analytical because the viewers are markedly better informed.
"Today with CNN, ESPN, USA Today and all of the local coverage fans are more savvy than ever. I know they often wonder why an announcer doesn't point something out that they think is obvious. The trick is not to get caught up in your preparation, but to use your own knowledge of the sport and the mood of the game to pick out the keys as they happen," Stockton says.
Turner's third NBA team, Verne Lundquist and newcomer Danny Ainge, will work the Tuesday night coverage and faces the obvious challenge presented to any newcomer. Ainge will need good leads from the polished, if not exactly inspiring, Lundquist.
Stockton sees a major change in the game since he last broadcast it regularly, and isn't surprised at its hold on younger fans.
"There are stars in far more places," he says. "In the 1980s you knew the Lakers would be the team in the West and that it would come down to one or two teams in the East. There are far more questions now. The battle for home-court advantage in the playoffs is real and so is the three-point shot. We know Chicago, Houston and Orlando are going to contend, but who can say how things will line up in April?"