Here's the next installment of our team-by-team season preview series on the Indiana Pacers.

2014-15 Record: 38-44

Notable Acquisitions: Monta Ellis (FA), Myles Turner (Draft), Chase Budinger (Trade), Jordan Hill (FA)

Notable Departures: Roy Hibbert, David West, Damjan Rudez, Luis Scola

Temperature Check:

Perhaps no team in the league has went through a more drastic makeover then the Pacers this past offseason. Out are both frontcourt mainstays David West and Roy Hibbert, along with the “power basketball” identity that propelled the Pacers to two straight Eastern Conference Finals. In their place is a sleeker, faster roster that will be anchored by Paul George’s switch to power forward.

Inside the Playbook:

During their first few games this preseason, we’ve had our first glimpse of this new-look Pacer lineup featuring George at the 4. After watching George drop 20 points in his first quarter of action, it’s safe to say this change started with some promise. The early signs points to George being utilized heavily in a variety of ways -- from iso’s, posts ups and both coming off and screens and setting them.

What really stood out, however, is the Dirk Nowitzki-esque effect he’s had early on against opposing defenses when used a screener in a pick-and-pop.

George is going to be a nightmare to guard without switching in this action, especially when the pick-and-pop occurs early in the possession as it does in the clip above. Because of his mobility and speed for the position, George will be able to screen and separate faster than most of the league’s power forwards. Whereas someone like Nowitzki has more separation vertically (because of the high release on his shot), players like George put pressure on recovering defenders with the distance he covers -- under control -- after releasing his screen.

And that possession was against Marcus Morris, a hybrid forward. Just imagine how much trouble more traditional 4’s (see players like Randolph, Zach) will have keeping up with him. Or the resulting chaos that will occur if teams are forced to re-jigger their matchups that will occur if they swap assignments trying to keep up.

All this doesn’t even take into account the offense that George will create for his teammates either. Like I wrote about Nowitzki, the general unwillingness of defenders to abandon George for too long will open up gaps for his teammates to exploit and create wide open looks like this…

….or this:

The space and freedom that the Pacers now have to utilize George in this way is going to cause opposing defenses headaches this season. That’s something that couldn’t be said about the “power basketball” Pacers teams over the past half-decade.

Lineup to Watch:

Paul George-George-Hill-Monta Ellis trio

Looking up and down the Indiana roster, it’s hard to tell if there’s a clear cut starting line up, much less a rotation. In game one, Jordan Hill and CJ Miles joined the aforementioned trio in the starting five. In their second game last night against Orlando, Glenn Robinson III and Ian Mahinmi joined the opening quintet (Hill was a scratch though). With players like Rodney Stuckey, Chase Budinger, rookie Myles Turner, Lavoy Allen and Solomon Hill are all around as well, it’s unlikely a set rotation is developed anytime soon.

But once the season gets underway, there is no doubt that George, Hill and Ellis will be the core group that all those players will be fighting to play next to. Those three will start games, finish games and do the heavy lifting in between. That means at the end of the season, how this trio fares will likely dictate Indiana’s success this year.

Team Atlas:

Paul George

Though teammates like Hill, Ellis and Stuckey will help him with the burden on offense, the early signs in the preseason point to George being the focal point of the Pacers offense. He will be asked to expand energy breaking players down in isolations, pick-and-popping for 3’s, cutting off screens….and then go down to the other end of the floor and bang with players that may be 50 pounds heavier than him.

George isn’t necessarily a stranger to two-way play, his motor has always revved high in that regard. But in that power basketball version of the Pacers, the team was mired in a halfcourt, grind it out offense where George was asked to track players more in his weight class. This year, Indiana will be forced into playing a more up-tempo style with the new personnel. That means more running, more possessions and more time being forced to spend chasing around or wrestling with power forwards on defense for George.

If the Pacers best player is suffers from a production standpoint or breaks down because of the physical toll, it would likely mean another trip to the lottery for the franchise.

Coach’s Question:

Do the Pacers have enough post up threats to beat the smaller (switchable) D’s they are sure to face?

With Indiana’s commitment to going small right off the bat, it will only be a matter of time before opponents try to neuter their offense advantage by doing the same thing. With the threat of a switch looming over every action -- like that George pick-and-pop -- the Pacers offensive success will basically come down to winning 1-on-1 matchups. Whether it’s isolation or the post, head coach Frank Vogel will need to find players that can “invert” (play a small in the mold of a big) his offense or exploit the weak end of a mismatch.

The problem facing Vogel is that none of his wing players are particularly good at at posting up with one exception: George Hill. Over the past two season, Hill has ranked in near the top of the league in post up efficiency, albeit on a very small number of attempts -- just 56 possessions as charted by Synergy Sports.

With Hibbert and West mucking things up in the paint, it’s quite impressive that Hill could post solid numbers posting up. This season might be even better now that George is at the four, giving the Pacers a chance to spread the court far better around a Hill post up. Should a more traditional attack stall out against switches, Hill gives Vogel at least one option to put pressure on smaller opposing defenses.

The only problem for Vogel is that every other player on the Pacer roster hovers between dreadful and poor when it comes to posting up. Stuckey, who seems like a bigger guard that could do some damage near the paint, really struggled posting up last year with a PPP of .5 on 34 charted possessions, per Synergy data. And two seasons ago, George posted a points per possession (PPP) mark of just .674 (.9 or above is a respectable figure) while on the block.

That latter number is particularly concerning for Vogel and the Pacers. In order to be effective in pick-and-roll situations (where he’s the screener), George must provide at least the threat of punishing a smaller guard on the block or teams will simply opt to switch every one he’s in. If George’s numbers -- along with a handful of others -- don’t improve significantly this year, it could be a death knell for this Pacers makeover.

Best Case Scenario:

45-37 If…

George proves to be his old self while handling his more physically demanding role. Vogel settles on a rotation quickly and doesn’t cost the team games with the process. One of the bigs -- Hill, Mahinmi, Turner, etc -- steps up and solidifies the center position.

Worst Case Scenario:

36-46 If…

The Pacers can’t adjust offensively once teams start going small against them. George breaks down or is unable to produce at a high level because of the injury layoff and physical demand. Hill spends extended time on the sidelines and Pacers struggle to cope without their steadiest backcourt presence.