Brooklyn Nets vs. Los Angeles Clippers Preview: Welcome to the preseason

We're back, so to speak. The NBA preseason is here and the Brooklyn Nets are preparing for a new adventure. This is the first of four preseason games next week and changes before the real show begins on the 23rd.

The Los Angeles Clippers are also on a new adventure after a big break in the season.

Where can you watch the game?

If you have League Pass, you will receive the Arena feed. If you don't, you're out of luck. Tip after 10:30 p.m. ET.

Injuries

No Nic Claxton, Day'ron Sharpe, Trenton Wadford or Bojan Bogdanovic.

Kawhi Leonard and Trentyn Flowers are out. Mo Bamba will probably be back tonight.

The game

PJ Tucker is also out and will remain so until he finds a new job! He and the Clippers agreed that he wouldn't come over until they found a spot for him on a new team. As a veteran who still wants to compete for a championship, Tucker is still a valuable contender. The question is how to get him there and how to get him to a team that can highlight his positives.

More encouraging news is that it will help the Nets gain a foothold in a new arena! The Clippers have moved their G League team to San Diego and will play at Frontwave Arena later this fall. Of course, the Clips will debut their own new arena soon, but we'll see about that later this year.

Since this is the first preseason game, be aware that things are a little clunky. Many of the Nets' key pieces are out, so we won't get a real sense of what things might look like once the band is fully in place.

One person who promises to have a big role this season is Noah Clowney. The second-year major shined during his time with the Long Island Nets in the G-League and also had good moments with the big club.

Cui Yongxi also unofficially becomes the seventh Chinese-born player in the NBA tonight. And for your information…

Development is the word of the year for Brooklyn, and watching Clowney find his role and establish himself will delight Nets fans during an especially long winter.

Player to Watch: Ben Simmons

The Ben Simmons experience, take IV. It's been a bumpy road for the former All-Star and he'll have to carve out a role for himself if he wants to stay in the league beyond this season. He will start with Dennis Schroder tonight and it will be interesting to see how the Nets get things going. With the Nets completely out of contention after the season, this is theoretically the perfect environment for Simmons to find his groove and re-establish himself as a solid NBA player.

From the safe

One in the air for Cissy Houston

More reading: Clipperholics, SB Nation NBA, Networks Republic, 213 tires