Here's the next installment of our team-by-team season preview series on the San Antonio Spurs.

2014-15 Record: 55-27

Notable Acquisitions: LaMarcus Aldridge (FA), David West (FA), Ray McCallum (Trade)

Notable Departures: Cory Joseph, Marco Belinelli, Tiago Splitter, Aron Baynes

Temperature Check:

For a team that usually moves in silence, the Spurs made a lot of noise in free agency with the signing of LaMarcus Aldridge. With the Tim Duncan-Tony Parker-Manu Ginobili trio all in various stages of a battle with Father Time, the Aldridge signing extends the championship window in San Antonio. Along with rising star Kawhi Leonard, Aldridge and the Spurs should find themselves in the thick of things once again.

Inside the Playbook:

While the team’s newest post presence is drawing all the attention, one of the Spurs' mainstays has been slowly developing his ability to handle opponents on the low block. Before Aldridge came on board, the plan was for Leonard to grow his game to the point he could anchor the team on both ends of the floor -- like Duncan has for well over a decade. And while Leonard has improved as a shooter, pick-and-roll ballhandler and closeout attacker since he’s entered the league, it’s his post game that seems ready to be a big-time asset in the San Antonio offense.

Over 151 charted possessions, Leonard quietly posted a respectable .94 points per possession during his opportunities on the low block, per Synergy Sports data. It’s not the mark of an elite player, but it did rank him a solid 12th out of 46 players with at least the same number of possessions. Given how little Leonard’s done it over the past number of years, such a mark is a very promising sign for a Spurs team that will probably still be seeking non-Aldridge centered ways to bend the defense and let their amazing ball movement tear defenses apart.

And when looking closer at his game, you can see the potential for Leonard to be a monster problem in the post, particularly when the right matchups come his way. A long player with monster hands has a nice physical platform to build a deadly jump hook on -- a shot that Leonard went 5-of-10 on during this past season, according to Synergy’s database.

That left shoulder (meaning he turns over his left shoulder and gets to his right hand) jump hook wasn’t even Leonard’s go-to maneuver in the post. That distinction would be facing up; where Leonard catches the ball in a standard back-the-basket position but pivots around to quite literally, face up both his defender and the rim. From there Leonard can use his jumper, jab steps or a series of fakes and shoulder shimmies to try and get deep paint finishes like this:

Obviously with the acquisition of Aldridge, the need for Leonard’s post game isn’t quite a high. That doesn’t mean, however, that won’t be a weapon for the Spurs this season.

Lineup to Watch:

Tim Duncan-LaMarcus Aldridge-Kawhi Leonard-Danny Green-Tony Parker

This lineup, with Tiago Splitter taking the place of Aldridge, absolutely demolished opponents this past season. In 265 minutes the group with Splitter outscored the opposition by an impressive 19.9 points per 48 minutes, placing it firmly in the top-20 of 5-man combinations in the entire league. But with Splitter in Atlanta, San Antonio will be searching for a new go-to lineup.

That will likely be the same starting group with Aldridge swapped in Splitter’s place. Smarter people than me have already taken a deep look into the type of impact the Spurs new All-Star forward can have, so I won’t try to rehash too many details here. But there are definitely some concerns that pop up with the swap of the Aldridge for Splitter.

For starters, the Blazers were a much better defensive team when Aldridge sat (99.4 defensive rating compared to 102.5) and Splitter, as I mentioned in the Hawks preview, posted the best defensive rating on the Spurs. On top of that, Splitter was content with the thankless task of screening on the ball and diving to hard to the rim every possession -- something that sucks in the defense and helps open up passing lanes for San Antonio’s drive-and-kick game. Neither Duncan nor Aldridge are those types of players. They’ll certainly do it from time to time, but not with the same zeal or frequency that Splitter did.

The bottom line is that with less depth than most seasons (more on that in a second), The Spurs need some of their core lineups to be really, really good in order to balance out what may be some uncharacteristically average second units.

The Wildcard:

Kyle Anderson

It seems like it’s become a foregone conclusion that every first round pick (or second, or scrap heap find, etc…) is destined to become a contributor at some point in time for San Antonio. In a year where they could use the wing depth, having Anderson emerge would be a big boost for a Spurs team that emphasizes rest more than any other team in the league.

Yet after an underwhelming rookie campaign, there is hope that the Spurs sprinkled some of their magic player development dust on their promising young prospect. Over the preseason, Anderson didn’t like a future star, but he posted respectable enough numbers -- 43.8 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from 3 -- to at least be more playable than his rookie year.

With only Kawhi Leonard, Manu Ginobili and Danny Green locked in as reliable contributors on the wing, the Spurs badly need a fourth backcourt player to step up and be ready for the steady stream of minutes sure to come their way. Though journeyman Rasual Butler and Jonathan Simmons also inhabit the roster, the player the Spurs may need (and certainly want) to grab hold of that role is Anderson.

If the youngster proves unfit for a larger role, it could trigger a chain reaction of less than ideal tweaks to the rotation from Gregg Popovich. But if Anderson busts out in a big way like so many other young Spurs have done, he may prove to be the final piece of another championship puzzle.

Coach’s Question:

What happens if the Spurs' backup point guards aren’t very reliable?

Lost in San Antonio’s incredible championship run from two seasons ago was the brilliant play of Patty Mills. After following up something of a breakout campaign the year before, Mills was solid again in the regular season before blowing up in the playoffs. In particular, Mills was a nightmare for the Miami Heat in that Finals rematch, posting video game numbers -- 54.3 shooting from the field and a white-hot 56.5 percent from 3.

But after coming back well into this past season because of an injury layoff, Mills wasn’t even close to the same player. He’s rebounded a little this preseason, but there’s still some lingering concern that Mills is back to the secret, super-sub level he was two years ago. If he proves to suffer another layoff over the early part of this season, it could leave the Spurs very vulnerable at the point guard position.

Behind Mills is Ray McCallum, who came over in trade this summer from Sacramento. McCallum showed some flashes during the latter part of his last year with the Kings when injuries and a lost season opened up consistent minutes. But overall, he didn’t show he was a player capable of stepping in and handling an important role on a championship-caliber team. Like Mills, McCallum’s preseason numbers (if you put any stock in such things) weren’t really bad, but certainly weren’t signaling the rise of a potential Sixth Man of the Year candidate.

If both Mills and McCallum are painfully mediocre this year, it’ll be interesting to see how Pop responds. Will he continue to play both heavy minutes in order to make sure Parker is rest for the playoffs? Or push Parker a little harder in order to stay near the top quarter of the West? Or will he team up with GM R.C. Buford and look to acquire outside help?

The Spurs obviously hope either Mills or McCallum (or both!) prove to be great bench players, but should they fail to produce, it will be fascinating to see how Pop and the Spurs respond.

Best Case Scenario:

55-27 If…

Aldridge and West mesh well in their new surroundings. A few players in the team’s collection of unknown commodities step up and seize important roles on the bench. Leonard stays healthy for the majority of the season.

Worst Case Scenario:

49-33 If…

The integration of Aldridge proves to be a bit rocky. Pop continues to mail in the regular season despite not having (or being able to build) the same deep roster he’s had in previous years. Leonard and/or Parker miss extended time.

Click here for a full list of NBA Season Previews from Brett Koremenos.