With training camp set to begin at the end of the month and rosters nearly solidified, teams headlined by aging stars are left to wonder whether this is the season that their stars fade into the hypothetical basketball sunset or whether there’s enough in the tank to make one last push.

During the ’09-’10 season, San Antonio Spurs future Hall of Fame center Tim Duncan displayed the least productive season of his career posting career lows in points per game (17.9), rebounds (10.1), and curbing his playing time down to a mere 31 minutes per game. Duncan’s offensive production has dropped precipitously since the Spurs last championship in 2007.

The 6’11’’ post man can no longer be considered an elite player and the Spurs have surrounded him with a formidable array of big men who can preserve Duncan for when the Spurs really need him in May.

Behind Duncan the Spurs can bring veteran Antonio McDyess off the bench as well as second year big bodied DeJuan Blair and promising Brazilian rookie Tiago Splitter. With 20,641 career points Duncan can expect to crack into the top 25 of all time NBA scoring leaders, passing the likes of George Gervin, Bob Pettit, and former teammate David Robinson but don’t expect a monster season to get him to that landmark.

The Spurs can survive another drop in Duncan’s production considering their collection of talented offensive players who can pick up slack.

Look for Richard Jefferson to bounce back from a disappointing season as he will look to find his role in Greg Popovich’s offense. Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili will again complete one of the league’s most formidable backcourts—the same backcourt that has delivered multiple championships to the Alamo city even with a deteriorating Duncan anchoring the post.

The east coast version of the Spurs is the Boston Celtics. Complete with a cast of veteran players that are continually written off each winter because of a rash of injuries and climbing age. The Celtics will feature their own group of aging veterans who are destined to make another title run.

The team is grounded with Ray Allen, 35, Kevin Garnett, 34, and Paul Piece who will be 33 by opening night. Not to mention the team’s recently acquired “Big Shamrock” Shaquille O’Neal at 38 and fellow veteran and still unrestricted free agent offensive sparkplug Michael Finley, 37. Danny Ainge and Doc Rivers have had success with this group and there’s no reason to believe that this year will be any different as they bring a focus predicated on defense and clutch shooting.

Ray Allen last season at the age of 34, posted both an impressive field goal and free throw percentage that were both above his career averages. Allen’s 36% from downtown matches where Reggie Miller was at age 34 and like Miller, Ray shows no signs of slowing down in 2010-2011. We should expect Allen to play well into his late 30’s, surviving on his perimeter jump shot and elite level free throw shooting.  The addition of O’Neal and a healthy Garnett will pull interior defenses in allowing Allen copious amounts of open long range looks.

Similarly, Paul Pierce should be counted on to have another effective season. A combination of small injuries and days off limited Pierce to 71 games last season, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see the veteran wingman eclipse last seasons averages considering the Celtics won’t have Tony Allen to bring off their bench.

The summer of 2004 proved to be a franchising altering period for the Phoenix Suns after they reacquired a then 29-year-old Steve Nash. Nash would go on to explode in his role as the team’s leading playmaker, ultimately delivering a pair of MVP’s during ’05 and ’06.

Nash will turn 36 this season and his numbers have yet to trend towards where we would expect. Nash continues to shoot an unprecedented percentage from 3 point range, shooting 43% last season and a league leading 94% from the free throw stripe.

Expect the rest of Nash’s peripherals to climb this season considering the departure of Amar’e Stoudemire and the Suns lack of a low post threat. The addition of Hedo Turkoglu will transition Phoenix’s focus back towards the up-tempo style Nash orchestrated under former head coach Mike D’Antoni.

Jason Kidd, Nash’s predecessor in Phoenix, will enter the 2010-11 season at the age of 36 and will continue to play as the chief playmaker for a super talented Dallas Mavericks team. Like an aged Merlot, Kidd has transitioned well into his role though he can no longer be considered among the elite playmakers in the league at his age.

Kidd’s scoring production has never been the signature of the ten-time all star’s game but his passing ability has allowed him to carve out a spot among some of the leagues’ all time greatest distributors.  Along with gaudy assist totals (9.1 apg in ’09-’10), Kidd has also been able to post impressive rebounding and steal rates even at his elevated age.

With a plethora of hungry offensive threats like fellow future Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki, Former Connecticut star Caron Butler, Jason Terry, and Shawn Marion, Kidd should have the weapons available to post yet another impressive season in the big D.

Written exclusively by Conor Gereg. Conor is a lifelong sports fan who can tell you Shawn Kemp’s career field goal percentage or even Jeff Blauser’s home run total but fails to remember where he left his keys.