Here's the next installment of our team-by-team season preview series on the Golden State Warriors.

2014-15 Record: 67-15

Notable Acquisitions: Jason Thompson (Trade), Kevin Looney (Draft)

Notable Departures: David Lee

Temperature Check:

Coming off their NBA Finals victory, not much has changed in Golden State -- on their roster at least. Former frontcourt mainstay David Lee is now plying his trade in Boston, but the rest of the championship-winning core is back. Gone, however, is lead assistant Alvin Gentry, the architect of the Warriors' potent offense. And to put even more stress on the coaching staff, head coach Steve Kerr is taking an indefinite leave of absence from the sidelines due to complications from offseason back surgery. The road to repeating is never easy, it’s already off to a bumpy start for Golden State.

Inside the Playbook:

With Draymond Green and Steph Curry stealing the headlines because of their massive contributions to the team’s success, it almost seemed like Klay Thompson was lost in the shuffle. Green became the catalyst for a formidable defense while Curry’s scoring exploits headlined every SportsCenter. But to achieve offensive balance, the Warriors need Thompson to continue to find ways to impact games without dominating the ball.

One of the ways is off screens, where he used nearly a quarter of his possessions last season (22.7 percent to be exact), per Synergy data. His numbers in that action weren’t particularly impressive as Thompson ranked in the middle of the pack with just .901 points per possession in all off-the-ball screening situations that led to a shot or turnover. But the thing about off ball screens is that they are not all created equal.

Golden State’s offense features a massive variety of ways that players can set and utilize screens. It seems like one they would tend to get away from with Thompson, especially in the Finals, is the wide pin down -- a situation where the screener angles his chest to the corner of the court. These situations can produce a variety of goodies for an offense -- quick curls for Thompson, drop off pases to the screeners release into space while he occupies their defenders and drive-and-kick frenzies -- that can scramble the defense in a lot of ways.

When allowed to use the screen, Thompson’s steady improvement in other non-shooting areas has made him a nightmare to defend. His defenders have to “lock and trail” in order to try to prevent him from getting jumpers but by doing this, they expose themselves to Thompson exploiting him the same way he does in the clip above.

But what (awesome) databases like Synergy don’t measure is the effect Thompson has on defenses in this action even when he doesn’t actually the ball.

That whole drive-and-kick situation, which ended in a careless Barnes turnover, was started because Thompson was “top locked” and not allowed to use the screen. One of the ways to counter that maneuver is what the Warriors did -- have the big pop back and get into a flowing progression of other goodies like dribble hand-offs, cuts and pick-and-rolls.

This trickle down effect that Thompson causes is exactly why the Warriors need to continue to emphasize plays that include wid pins this season. More than ever, Curry will be a wanted man and will need players to take the pressure off him at times. If Golden State continues to include wide pin downs for Thompson, they will be able to provide the league’s M.V.P. plenty of offensive help.

Lineup to Watch:

Draymond Green-Harrison Barnes-Andre Iguodala-Klay Thompson-Steph Curry

There’s no need to talk about the excitement, production and success this group has had given their Finals-turning introduction. This will be clearly be a lineup that teams, especially in the postseason, will have to contend with now when facing Golden State.

The reason it bears watching, other than, ya know, fun stuff they do, is because it doesn’t seem like a lineup well-suited for marathon of a regular season. The Warriors know they are going to make the playoffs and be poised once again for a deep run. Given their depth at center (which we’ll get to in a second) and Green’s value to the team, it's not ideal to run their power forward ragged even if this smallball lineup can put a massive hurt on opponents.

So what will be worth watching is to see how this quintet is utilized during the regular season. Will Kerr or interim head coach Luke Walton keep it as a playoff wildcard, use it sparingly depending on matchups, or deploy it often to pulverize opponents? We will find out soon enough.

Wildcard:

Jason Thompson

With as deep, talented and versatile this Golden State team is, Thompson is about as big of a wildcard as you can find. Trapped in the quagmire that is Sacramento, Thompson’s game never seemed to take off. He worked himself into a capable defender, but never really found a niche on the offensive end -- moving between power forward and center while even moonlighting as a small forward early in his career.

Now in this Warriors organization, Thompson may finally be able to step into a role he’s always seemed destined for; a mobile 5-man on a team playing an up-tempo brand of basketball (the talent upgrade around him will help too). He never was a great pick-and-roll finisher during his time with the Kings, mostly hovering around average aside from a dreadful performance last year where Thompson ranked in the bottom quarter of the league, per Synergy data. But those numbers may need to be taken with a grain of salt since the presence of DeMarcus Cousins wasn’t exactly opening up the paint the way Golden State’s smaller, stretchier power forwards might.

Especially given Bogut’s injury problems, Thompson could be utilized quite a bit as in a three-man center rotation. The Warriors won’t be unearthing a hidden All-Star, but if Thompson can prove to be a reliable option in his new digs, it could give a loaded team one more reliable contributor.

Coach’s Question:

Could the Warriors offense actually be better sans Gentry?

Before going any further, it’s important to note that Gentry is an undervalued coach at this level. He’s arguably one of the the NBA’s ten best coaches and the job he did with the Suns in 2010 when they fell just short of a Finals was one of the most criminally unappreciated seasons in recent memory. With his PHd in D’Antoni-Ism, Gentry showed at stops with the Clippers and Warriors that he can build offenses that run great stuff.

Now here’s the but. Gentry is clearly a great architect and excellent at installing the big picture stuff modern NBA offenses need to be successful - ball movement, floor spacing and fast, flowing actions. Yet in Golden State last year and during his time in Phoenix, his teams always seemed to be a bit…sloppy.  Unlike the military precision of say, Stan Van Gundy, teams Gentry has heavily influenced tend to have bouts with rushed actions that lead to turnovers and middling possessions. But because the big picture stuff (and talent) is so smart and well thought out, his teams have overcome less than ideal attention to the details.

Given his departure, it will be interesting to see if Kerr and Walton can take the framework of the system Gentry helped build and add a smidge of precision to it. If so, they Warriors may be even more difficult to defend than they were last year, which is a rather unpleasant thought for opposing defenses.

Best Case Scenario:

65-17 If…

Kerr and Gentry’s absence don’t cause for a drop off in the team’s focus or performance. Their three most integral players -- Green, Curry and Thompson -- don’t miss extended time. The defense doesn’t take a step backward due to post-championship malaise.

Worst Case Scenario:

55-27 If….

Curry or Green are out for a large chunk of the season. Barnes struggles under the weight of his impending foray into the free agent market. The team suffers a Finals hangover and is a bit listless without Kerr on the sidelines to open the season.

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