Over the next month, we will be previewing every team in the NBA. Here's the next installment of our series on the Detroit Pistons.

2014-15 Record: 32-50

Notable Acquisitions: Marcus Morris (Trade), Danny Granger (Trade), Stanley Johnson (Draft), Reggie Bullock (Trade), Aron Baynes (FA), Steve Blake (Trade)

Notable Departures: Greg Monroe, Tayshaun Prince

Temperature Check:

After one of the strangest seasons (for a team that was essentially irrelevant) in recent memory, the Pistons look to move forward in Year 2 of the Stan Van Gundy era. With Greg Monroe now plying his trade in Milwaukee, this team’s success now and going forward hinges on the chemistry and development of budding young stars Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson.

Inside the Playbook:

It’s no secret Van Gundy is a big proponent of the spread pick-and-roll, especially now that he has a roster stocked with 3-point threats at nearly every position. The plan this year, as our own Jonathan Tjarks covered in-depth this week, will be to let Jackson and Drummond tear teams apart in this spread offense.

To say Van Gundy’s system is as simple as standing a bunch of shooters around a two-man tango at the top of the key doesn’t give one of the best coaches in the league enough credit. Van Gundy’s attack, while seemingly straightforward, contains several wrinkles that put even more pressure on opposing defenses than the average (already difficult to defend) pick-and-roll.

One of those is nuances is how Van Gundy places an emphasis on having his perimeters be moving into dangerous spots behind the 3-point line as the pick-and-roll is taking place, rather than having three players simply stand in one place the entire possession. While off-the-ball movement for movement’s sake is an often overrated concept in basketball, the way Van Gundy coordinates can subtly undermine the help scheme of an opposing defense. Take a look at how shooting guard Jodie Meeks sneaks around in the following clip:

Instead of screening for the big (another clever tactic that can be a breakdown in itself) and immediately scampering out to a spot on the perimeter, Meeks instead holds for a beat just under the rim to watch how the play develop.

It’s easy to look at this and immediately say, “So what?” because it doesn’t really look like Meeks is doing much of anything dangerous. But with the way pick-and-roll defense is coordinated at the NBA level, help defenders knowing who is picking up the screener after he rolls (or sometimes pops) is just as important as guarding the ball. In fact, a lot of NBA teams have a “low man” call meant to identify the last line of help defense on the weakside of the floor.

By Meeks loitering in the paint, he’s reading the ball and delaying the defense’s ability to coordinate their help on the roll man. By being under the rim and not on the perimeter as the screen is being set, Meeks is forcing both of the other Indiana help defenders guarding his teammates in the corners to think they are the “low man” and thus responsible for making sure Drummond doesn’t get a free roll to the basket.

Now had Meeks just ran out to where he eventually ended up, the right corner, the two Pacer help defenders on that side would know immediately that there would be two tags -- one from high up on the wing and one from Meeks’ defender -- on Drummond as he rolls. They’d also know that the player guarding Meeks would be the one truly responsible for making sure Drummond can stroll down the paint and throw down a thunderous dunk. But by Meeks not playing his hand right away, there’s momentary confusion for the Pacers help defense.

In an era of NBA basketball where teams can be dissected down to the exact distance of their spacing on every set, this type of in the moment, cat-and-mouse game forces players to make decisions on the fly. And as the offensive success of Van Gundy’s previous teams can attest to, these subtle nuances will help the Pistons make their way up the Eastern Conference standings this season.

Lineup to Watch:

Andre Drummond-Marcus Morris-Stanley Johnson-Jodie Meeks-Reggie Jackson

If you could peer into the future, you might be looking at the lineup Van Gundy routinely goes to in order to close out games. If you believe his Summer League 3-point shooting numbers -- 41.7 percent 12 attempts) -- Johnson might be able to adjust to the NBA arc quicker than expected. If so, he’d give Van Gundy a trio of switchable shooters to surround Jackson-Drummond pick-and-rolls late in games.

What is interesting though is that the Jackson-Drummond-Meeks trio was just +3.2 per 48 in the 197 minutes they played together. Now that’s a small sample size that includes a player who was adjusting to a team mid-season, but it’s certainly not one you’d expect from the three most impactful players of a crunch time lineup. That said, adding Robinson, who looked great in Summer League and could be a Rookie of the Year candidate, and versatile combo forward that shot 35.8 percent from 3 might make it a fun and productive quintet.

Team Atlas:

Andre Drummond

Jackson’s play will be key as well, but no player on this roster will have the burden facing Drummond this season.

For starters, Van Gundy certainly can’t be happy with the fact Detroit finished 19th in defensive efficiency, per our own RealGM database. Though slightly impacted by the awkward pairing with Greg Monroe, Drummond’s on/off defensive splits didn’t exactly scream “defensive lynchpin.” But after this offseason, there’s no denying that Van Gundy is counting on Drummond to be his a feared rim protector on the backline.

On the other end of the floor, Drummond’s threatening rolls to the rim are going to be critical for Van Gundy’s system. No other big on the team can force help defenders to abandon shooters quicker and for longer than Drummond as he moves toward the basket. And with a dearth of other go-to options (more on that in a second), the Pistons young big man must stay active and healthy all season long to provide the offensive threat his team needs.

Coach’s Question:

How will Van Gundy manage his bench before the return of Brandon Jennings?

In case it’s not clear by now, Jackson and Drummond are going to run a lot of pick-and-rolls for the Pistons this season. But after that, who Van Gundy relies on and when will be pretty integral developments.

Backup point guard Steve Blake isn’t more than a placeholder at this point. He’ll compete, run a team, move the ball and (hopefully) knock down shots but is far from a creative force. That means that somewhere in the bench units, Van Gundy must stash someone capable of bending defenses in some form or fashion. That likely means that Meeks, even if he’s outplaying promising youngster Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, will start games in warmups. The Pistons will likely need Meeks to shift defenses with their sets designed to free him with off-the-ball screens.

Moving up a spot, Morris could be the best option at small forward, but with the starting unit he’d primarily be asked to be a spot up player, a role that may suit the rookie Johnson better initially. Off the bench, Morris could perhaps be used to beat up on backup small forwards in the post -- something that if you’ve ever watched a Morris twin play, you know they want to do. The problem is, Morris isn’t a very good post up option, at least per Synergy data that ranks him in the bottom third of the league, but that could change if Van Gundy attacks the right matchups with him off the bench.

No matter what happens, however, the Pistons must find some form of offense when Jackson leaves the game. When Jennings returns, assuming he’s somewhere near his previous level, the pick-and-roll madness can continue all game long. But until then, Van Gundy will have his work cut out for him finding points with his team’s second unit.    

Best Case Scenario:

50-32 If…

Van Gundy’s selections at power forward don’t compromise the defense. Jackson inches closer to All-Star level production. One player on the roster improves his post game just enough (*cough* Drummond *cough*) that opponents can’t employ small, switch happy defenses that short circuit the Piston’s pick-and-roll attack.

Worst Case Scenario:

42-40 If…

Jackson’s production plateaus. Drummond misses extended time, overextending Baynes and Joel Anthony. The power forward position is a defensive quagmire and the wing rotation never quite gets sorted out.

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