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Clippers vs Nets 2025 Preseason Game 2 Preview
The Clippers will face off against the rebuilding Brooklyn Nets in their second game of the 2025 preseason.
Game Information
Where: Frontwave Arena, Oceanside, California
When: 7:30 PM PT
How to Watch: Bally Sports SoCal, AM 570
Projected Starting Lineups
Nets: Dennis Schroder – Cam Johnson – Dorian Finney-Smith – Ben Simmons – Noah Clowney
Clippers: James Harden – Norm Powell – Terance Mann – Derrick Jones Jr. – Ivica Zubac
Injuries
Nets: Nic Claxton Out (Hamstring), Trendon Watford Out (Hamstring), Day’Ron Sharpe Out (Hamstring)
Clippers: Kawhi Leonard Out (Knee), Mo Bamba Out (Knee), Trentyn Flowers Out (Wrist)
Notes
New Arena: The most exciting part of this game for me is that it’s in the Clippers’ new G-League arena in Oceanside, California. The Clippers’ G-League team was previously located in Ontario, in San Bernardino County/The Inland Empire. The arena and location in Ontario were fine, but the use of a new arena for the G-League Clippers (which will also be used by Indoor Soccer and Indoor Football League teams) shows the commitment of Ballmer to the organization. Playing in Oceanside, in San Diego county, will also hopefully help the Clippers tap further into the San Diego market and expand their fanbase. It’s also a fun historical move, as it brings the Clippers back to their San Diego home from 1978 to 1984. It should be a fun arena to play in and I’m excited to see it in action.
New Starting Unit: I’m very curious to see who Ty Lue plays in this game and with what units, as there were multiple surprises in Game 1 against the Warriors. Ty has already said that Terance Mann will start over Kris Dunn in this one, meaning that Dunn will presumably come off the bench with Kevin Porter Jr. Amir Coffey did not play in the first half in Game 1, but with Dunn and Porter Jr. both playing, adding Bones Hyland to the mix would seem incredibly small even for Ty, so my guess is Coffey and Kobe Brown round out the second unit along with Kai Jones. Still, there could be surprises, as preseason is the time to tinker!
Figuring Out the Harden-less Offense: Results do not matter in preseason, but process does, and the Clippers were incredibly sloppy with the ball in Game 1 against the Warriors. They had 20 turnovers to 21 assists, and if you remove James Harden from the equation, that falls to 18 turnovers to 13 assists. The lack of an organizing offensive presence when Harden was out of the game was apparent, and while that might be Kawhi Leonard when he’s healthy, the Clippers will need to figure out some way to stay afloat in the inevitable games Leonard misses. Whether that’s Ivica Zubac post-ups, Kevin Porter Jr. ISOing (yuck), or Norm Powell scoring packages, the Clippers have to do something to center their offense when Harden is resting. Let’s see if there’s any progress on that front in this game.