This week marks the opening of NBA training camps and the release of a new album by Bruce Springsteen. Could it get any better? In honor of the legendary rocker, here are 10 key storylines (with a nod to The Boss) to keep an eye as the pros return to the court.

“Glory Days”
The Boston Celtics were the league’s boldest and biggest winners in the offseason, trading for all-stars Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, who combine with mainstay Paul Pierce to form a talented triumvirate. Do the Celtics have enough talent to return to the NBA’s elite? Well, it certainly helps that they play in the weaker Eastern Conference. They won’t have to beat all of the powers out West, just one of them, which is the same formula the Miami Heat followed two years ago.

Boston has done a nice job of filling out its roster with veteran role players such as Scot Pollard and James Posey, but GM Danny Ainge — even at age 48 and far removed from his glory days as a player with the Celtics in the 1980s — might be the team’s best option to play point guard. Regardless, with half of the roster turned over, coach Doc Rivers has some work to do.

This team should approach 50 wins as well as be favored to at least reach the conference finals. At that point, how much Garnett, Allen and Pierce have left in their tanks will determine if this is a very good team or a champion.

“Born to Run”
The Golden State Warriors were the best story of last year’s postseason, energizing fans across the country with their first-round upset of the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks. It was how the Warriors pulled it off, however, that really made an impact. Given the freedom by coach Don Nelson, Golden State’s free-wheeling, open-court style at times even made the Phoenix Suns seem pedestrian by comparison.

Was the remarkable run, which began with nine wins in their last 10 games to reach the playoffs, short-lived? Or can the Warriors keep it up for an entire season? The health of dynamic point guard Baron Davis, clearly the motor and heart of this team, will go a long way to answering those questions. Davis has missed an average of 30 games in each of the past five seasons.

Watch out for 21-year-old Marco Belinelli, a 6-5 guard from Italy whom Nelson raves about. He averaged 22.8 points in the Las Vegas Summer League, and with his ability to run and create with pace, Belinelli is a perfect fit for Golden State.

“Tougher Than the Rest”
With little fanfare, the San Antonio Spurs just do what they do: win. Following that theme, the Spurs had an unremarkable off-season. While consensus is that trading Luis Scola to the Houston Rockets was a mistake, San Antonio quietly became more athletic with the additions of Brazilian big man Tiago Splitter, Marcus Williams and Ime Udoka.

Regardless, it’s hard to argue with the NBA champions three of the past five years (2003, 2005, 2007).

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Coach Gregg Popovich is the league’s best because when things get tough — injuries, distractions, loss of home court advantage, etc. — his team gets tougher, sticking together and finding a way. That foundation, of course, is poured and solidified in October when roles are defined and defense is preached.

Remember this, only two things kept the Spurs from five titles in a row: Derek Fisher’s miracle buzzer-beater in ’04 and Manu Ginobili’s lapse-in-judgment foul in ’06. Beating them 2008 might require a similar unexpected moment.

“Reason to Believe”
With new owner Clay Bennett threatening to move the team, and a legal battle with the city of Seattle pending as a gloomy backdrop, the Sonics will lean heavily on rookie Kevin Durant. By season’s end, however, let’s hope that Durant hasn’t fallen over from all of the leaning.

With Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis departed, Durant will be forced to carry the entire scoring load for a team with a young and talent-deprived roster. But he just might be up to the challenge. No teenager has entered the NBA with more a polished, effortless and diverse set of offensive skills. Expect Durant to have the green light from the first day of camp.

How high is his ceiling this season? All indications are that Durant will exceed the roughly 21 points that LeBron James averaged as a 19-year-old rookie in 2004. (Durant turned 19 years old on Sept. 29.) The Sonics will struggle, but Durant will give fans reason to show up, national TV stations reason to show highlights, and hopefully politicians and citizens reason to support last-minute funding for a new arena.

Score, win, and save the team … why not the cheerleader and the world while he’s at it?