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

2014-15 Record: 41-41

Notable Acquisitions: Greg Monroe (FA), Greivis Vasquez (Trade), Rashad Vaughn (Draft)

Notable Departures: Zaza Pachulia, Ersan Ilyasova, Jared Dudley

Temperature Check:

Coming off a miserable 15-win season, the Bucks were a franchise in desperate need of optimism and relevance. They took big strides with a 26-win improvement, making the playoffs and proving themselves to be a team on the rise. Then this summer, Milwaukee went out and nabbed one of the league’s marquee free agents in Greg Monroe. After years of toiling in mediocrity, the Bucks could be near the top of the Eastern Conference sooner rather than later.

Inside the Playbook:

Though it can be cloaked in a veil of complexity at times, good offense at all levels of basketball essentially boils down to one thing: get the ball to your best player in his best spot. When it comes to Monroe, the Bucks will be looking to inject life into their struggling offense by feeding him the ball on the block.

While teams like the Spurs have made it seem like every possession has to be a complicated dance of ball and player movement, that’s not always necessary. Sometimes it’s pays to be direct. And from the early going this preseason, that seems to be the name of the game with Monroe and Milwaukee.

Back before modern offenses had teams gunning up transition 3’s or running guards into early pick-and-rolls, coaches used to build their entire break on getting the ball into the post. This old-school approach is exactly what the Bucks are doing with Monroe now.

The idea behind this is brilliant because of it’s simplicity. Milwaukee just starts their break with all four players not named Monroe running to spots behind the 3-point line while their bruising big man heads as deep as he can toward the rim. From that point, it’s as simple as swinging the ball around until Monroe is freed for an entry pass then let him go to work, like he did on Noah in the previous clip.

The reason this works so well is because of how quickly it happens. On a slower push or during a set play, defenders can try various things to keep bigs like Monroe from setting up shop for a deep touch. And for a player with Monroe’s size, skill set and physical nature, the deeper he can catch the ball, the bigger advantage he has on the player guarding him.

The above video shows how difficult guarding this can be. Bobby Portis, a very active and mobile big, never has a chance to make contact with Monroe until the Bucks big man is in the paint. The common cue for bigs in transition is to make contact as early possible, hitting the opposing big man looking to set up shop at least before he makes it to the free throw line extended. So by Monroe and the Bucks running with an emphasis to spread out and get him deep positioning, they are making opposing post defenders lose out a crucial aspect at controlling low post players.

Lineup to Watch:

John Henson & Greg Monroe in the same frontcourt

With Monroe pulling in a max deal as an unrestricted free agent and Henson recently signing a four-year, $44 million extension, the Bucks have committed a lot of money to two players that are best at the same position. The modern NBA calls for reducing minutes during the regular season, so these two can obviously make an extremely effective two-man platoon. Monroe can start off games and help stabilize the offense through the post while Henson can check in with the reserves and give the Bucks an excellent shot blocker and effective pick-and-roll finisher.

But given the sheer amount of money the Bucks will be paying this duo and Monroe’s defensive shortcomings poking holes in what has become an airtight defense, it will be interesting to see if Jason Kidd will try to play these two together. Against more traditional frontcourts, Henson could, in theory, cover Monroe’s limitations as a back line defender. The other end of the floor, however, would be a different story.

Neither player is well suited to hang out near the perimeter or even higher up near the elbows. This lack of spacing could suffocate a Bucks offense that already has a core perimeter member - the Greek Freak - who has shooting limitations as is. For a team that already struggles offensively, the Monroe- Henson pairing could be a death knell.

How much this pairing plays together, if they do at all, will be an interesting storyline in Milwaukee’s season. And now that winning is the expectation, not an entertaining accident, Kidd and the Bucks can’t afford any missteps in the rotation.

Team Atlas:

Greg Monroe

Milwaukee finished 26th in offensive efficiency last year, per our RealGM database, a worrisome number for a team with playoff aspirations. Without much else besides hope for development of some young players and the return to health of Jabari Parker to be counted on, the burden of offensive improvement sits pretty much solely on Monroe.

There’s no doubt that Milwaukee desperately needs a player on that end of the floor that can bend set defenses. Whether it’s from the elbow or the low block, Monroe will see the ball in his hands quite a bit. But while he was better later in the season, his efficiency numbers in the post overall weren’t very good. Monroe ranked in just the 60th percentile in Synergy’s derived offense out of post ups, which factors in shots from passes made out of post ups. On top of that, the Pistons offense was just a shade better when Monroe was on the bench.

These are not promising signs, but it’s also not definitive enough to say Monroe can’t help, or maybe even carry, a solid offense. But given the lack of other “go-to” options on the roster, we will find out this season if Monroe is up to the challenge.

Coach’s Question:

How will Jason Kidd handle Michael Carter-Williams and Greivis Vasquez?

If you look at these two players and glimpse hard enough, you can see different stages of Kidd’s career. In Carter-Williams, Kidd likely sees the oversized, defensive menace he was upon entering the league. Vasquez is more like late stage Kidd in Dallas, a savvy floor general who can run the offense and knock down open shots.

But both these players have severe flaws as well. Carter-Williams gets almost zero respect as a shooter while Vasquez pretty much singlehandedly cratered Toronto’s defense when he was on the floor last year. Given those limitations and the general stages of their careers, it will be interesting to see how Kidd handles their playing time.

In a perfect world, he will mix and match the two when the matchups and surrounding personnel are appropriate. But Kidd is a human being, not a machine. And human beings don’t make uncompromising data driven decisions. Scenarios in which Kidd leans on Vasquez because of his trust in the veteran’s IQ despite disastrous defensive numbers could certainly become reality this season.

How this balancing act plays out will have a big impact on the team’s success this year.

Best Case Scenario:

49-33 If…

Kidd finds enough shooting around his deep and versatile centers. Monroe turns into a beast in the post without dragging the Bucks' defense down from their lofty perch atop the league. One of the young players -- Parker, Carter-Williams or Antetokounmpo -- takes a leap forward.

Worst Case Scenario:

43-39 If…

Monroe’s presence hamstrings the defense. None of the Bucks young stars develop reliable outside shots. Kidd fails to utilize his rotation well and leaves better lineups (and players) tabled for ones with major shortcomings on end of the floor.

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