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

2014-15 Record: 56-26

Notable Acquisitions: Ty Lawson (Trade), Sam Dekker (Draft)

Notable Departures: Josh Smith

Temperature Check:

The Rockets made what could turn out to be the move off the offseason when they dealt for the troubled Lawson. Always seeming to be missing a third piece, Lawson could be a monster next to Harden in Houston’s free-flowing system. The caveat, as always, is whether a group with some big (and troubled) personalities can keep it together during a long season.

Inside the Playbook:

Any team that comes in to play Houston can expect to see a lot of one thing: James Harden in pick-and-roll. With very few set plays (relative to other NBA teams) and a lot of ad-lipped screens and isolation attacks, slowing the Rockets essentially comes down to slowing Harden. But that is obviously way easier said than done.

Since most teams now “drop” the defending big man in pick-and-roll between the ballhandler and the basket, the main strategic maneuver in that action involves whether the play guarding someone like Harden goes over (trails behind) or under (shoots, well, under the screen). The problem is, Harden is basically death to both coverages. Go over on him and this happens:

But if you go under on him, Harden will just respond by doing this:

So as we enter a new season, opposing defenses will once again have to pick their poison with Harden...all while knowing that both choices could lead them to their demise.

Lineup to Watch:

The Ty Lawson-James Harden backcourt

Especially given Lawson’s recent legal troubles, you’d be hard pressed to find a more scrutinized backcourt in the NBA. There are certainly key questions facing them on both ends of the floor.

Defensively, it’s a fairly obvious one: can the Rockets maintain a passable defense with these two at the point of attack? Harden is no longer that player made famous by the viral videos of his defensive shortcomings, but he’s hardly emerged as an All-Defense candidate. On top of that, Harden will still be the driving force behind the Houston offense.

Lawson is in the same boat as Harden when it comes to concerns on defense. Though part of his effort problems may be linked to unhappiness with the deterioration of Lawson’s situation in Denver. But focus aside, Lawson’s size always presents limitations on that end of the floor.

It’s hard to imagine those two being a positive for a defense, but they can mitigate if they can work together on offense. Harden will obviously dominate the ball when the two play together, so it’ll be on Lawson to adapt to a role off the ball. Lawson is a solid but unspectacular catch-and-shoot player, at least in situations categorized as “unguarded” by Synergy’s database. But Lawson also thrived in George Karl’s drive-and-kick heavy scheme in Denver so there’s very little doubt he can adjust to a secondary role on offense.

That said, there are no guarantees of success with this group, so it will be fun to see how this all shakes out.

The Wildcard:

Donatas Motiejunas

After a couple years of middling production, Motiejunas really came on in his third NBA season, flashing a true inside-out game and providing the Rockets with valuable frontcourt depth. Though the Rockets were better with him on the bench than off the floor, it was clear during the playoffs that Motiejunas meant a lot to this team.

Now entering his fourth year, it will be interesting to see what Motiejunas brings to the table. If he can improve on either his post play or 3-point percentage -- he was at 36.8 percent last season on nearly four attempts per game -- it could open up all kinds of options for Houston’s rotation. It would also mean the team could afford to aggressively rest Howard without feeling the pinch in the standings.

The flip side of that would be Motiejunas reverting back to the form we saw in his first two seasons. If that happens, the Rockets would be forced to rely on an emerging Clint Capela to make sure there were productive minutes behind or alongside Howard (and Terrence Jones) -- a reversal that would be a major blow to their depth and championship aspirations.

Coach’s Question:

Can Kevin McHale find a balance with his rotation?

There are several things that McHale will have juggle with his newfound depth. The whole Harden-Lawson scenario mentioned above, is really just the tip of the iceberg.

Next up is figuring out the team’s frontcourt rotation. Finding out who pairs best with Howard -- Motiejunas or Jones -- is probably the first step. After that, it’s figuring out how to get the young Capela minutes as well, something that may affect the decision of who ends up alongside Howard in the starting lineup.

After that, it’s figuring out who fills out the backcourt minutes. Can McHale trust Corey Brewer and Patrick Beverley to come off the bench and combine with different combinations of Lawson, Harden and Trevor Ariza? Or does sage vet Jason Terry and the young, athletic KJ McDaniels get a chance to fill out an extra spot in the rotation?

None of these choices even factor in what would happen if rookies Sam Dekker or Montrezl Harrell make a serious push for playing with their work in practice or limited minutes in garbage time. But for the most part, having to find answers to tough questions like these is something McHale can file under “Good problems to have.”

Best Case Scenario:

61-21 If…

The team’s health situation is the exact opposite of last year. Clint Capela merges as a legit force behind Howard, giving the team valuable depth. McHale maximizes the impact of Beverley, Lawson and Harden with a clever rotation while Jones or Motiejunas take a big step forward.

Worst Case Scenario:

56-26 If…

Injures to Harden or the frontcourt put a lot of pressure on the team’s depth. Lawson and Harden prove to untenable defensively. The mixture of, umm, “strong” personalities makes night-to-night consistency impossible to obtain.

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