Notice anything unusual in this NBA preseason photo? What about this one? Or this one?

Duh, it's so obvious: The rim design has been updated for this season. Look, it's like night and day!

OK, so the rim update is actually pretty subtle, but that should give you an idea of how comprehensive Uni Watch is being with this year's NBA season-preview column. New uniforms, new compression undergarments, new warm-up gear, new throwbacks, new court designs, the new rim -- it's all covered here.

So let's get to it. With the regular season due to tip off on Tuesday evening, here's what you can expect to see on the court:

- Unfortunate downgrade for the Bobcats, who have a new pinstriped uni set (here's the rear view). When will the NBA learn that pinstripes don't make sense on players who are already 37 feet tall? Even worse, Charlotte's NASCAR alternates now feature checkerboards and pinstripes, which is really pushing it. Meanwhile, the road uni is now blue instead of orange -- probably an improvement when viewed in a vacuum, but does the league really need another team wearing blue on the road?

- The Cavs have an anniversary patch, plus they'll periodically be wearing a late-'80s throwback, which will make its on-court debut on Dec. 2. In addition, they're featuring another "Cav Fanatic" mix-and-match throwback, just like last season. This time around it's the late-'80s design in 1970s colors -- weird but kinda cool -- which is slated to be worn on Jan. 10 and 21.

- If you can get all worked up one way or the other over the Grizzlies' new alternates, then you're way ahead of Uni Watch. And really, enough already with the shimmer fabric. On-court debut: Oct. 28.

- The trend toward abbreviations and nicknames continues, as the Hawks are adding an "ATL" road alternate uni, which will make its game debut on Nov. 26. Unfortunately, they can add all the alternates they want, but nothing can hide the fact that this uni set is utterly characterless.

- The Heat have made three small changes to their shorts, so pay attention. First, the old format of having the NBA logo on the left leg and the team logo on the right leg has been reversed (that's so the shorts match up with the jersey, where the NBA logo appears on the right-chest area). Second, the team logo on the red alternate shorts has been changed from the flaming ball to the flaming "MH." And third, team logos have been added to the waistband on all three shorts designs.

- Remember back around 1981, when the Jazz wore green road uniforms? Right, neither does anyone else, but you'll get a memory jog when when the team breaks out these awesome green throwbacks on Dec. 4.

- The Kings are wearing a 25th-anniversary patch. Here's a really nice close-up of it.

- Fabric change for the Knicks, who are changing from an open-hole mesh to a flat-back mesh, although you won't be able to tell unless you have a courtside seat. Who makes that kind of decision anyway? "In this case it was the equipment manager," says NBA apparel director Christopher Arena. "He felt the color wasn't holding up well enough in the laundry with the open-hole mesh."

- As per recent custom, the defending champions -- in this case, the Lakers -- will wear a special patch for their home opener, when their championship banner will be raised. They'll also have commemorative warm-up outfits and other gear for that game, which will be on Oct. 27.

- Mid-'90s pinstriped throwback set for the Magic. Yes, we've all seen that throwback before, but there's no denying that it looks better than their current road uni. On-court debut: Dec. 2.

- The Mavericks have a new blue alternate uni. It's basically the same as the team's P. Diddy alternate, but with a different color scheme, plus the uni numbers are now in the team's standard number font. Here's the rear view, and there's a video of the unveiling here. On-court debut: Oct. 30.

- The Nets have scrapped their blue "New Jersey" road uni and have promoted their garish red "Nets" uni from alternate to road status -- a bad move aesthetically and, as it turns out, politically.

- Last year the Nuggets wore green jerseys as an environmental-awareness thing. That initiative has been retired for this season, although a broader uni-based environmental program may be put in place for 2010-11.

- The Pacers are adding a memorial patch for longtime co-owner Mel Simon, although they haven't worn it during the preseason.

- Two uniform memorials for the Pistons: They're wearing a jersey patch for Hall of Fame coach Chuck Daly, and they've added "Mr. D" to their rear collar for Hall of Fame owner Bill Davidson. The Daly patch is just for this season, but the Davidson memorial is a permanent addition to the uniform -- the first permanent memorial in NBA uni history.

- Clever move by the Raptors, who are honoring Toronto's hoops heritage with 1946-47 Toronto Huskies throwbacks (for more on the Huskies, look here and here). Yes, the design is pretty plain, but hey, a Toronto throwback could've been much worse. Now let's hope they make use of the Huskies' old logo, too. On-court debut: Dec. 8.

- New alternate uni for the Rockets -- not bad, right? Additional photos here and here, and there's a really good article about how the design was developed here. On-court debut is slated for Nov. 6.

- Good news in Philly, where the Sixers have switched to a really nice retro-ish uni set. They've also resurrected their old ball-shaped logo, which will appear on the new shorts. Meanwhile, the team's alternate road uni has been mothballed. Further details here and here.

- Uni Watch knows this is hard to believe, but there was once a time when the numbers and letters on the Timberwolves' jerseys were actually legible. And they're proving it by adding this throwback design, which will make its on-court debut on Dec. 5.

- Has an announcer's signature phrase ever been the basis of a uni design before? That's the situation in Portland, where the Trail Blazers have introduced a "Rip City" alternate design that looks pretty sweet. (Don't know what "Rip City" means? Look here, and then check out the jersey's special tagging.) The plan is for the team to wear it only a couple of times -- once on Nov. 6 and again much later in the season -- but Uni Watch has a feeling we may see more of this one due to popular demand. Also: The Blazers will have a 1975 throwback in this season's rotation. On-court debut for that one is scheduled for Dec. 5.

- The Warriors have a great uni history that presents all sorts of intriguing throwback possibilities, but here's one you probably didn't see coming. Simple but cool, and dig the little arrow on the shorts logo patch! On-court debut: Dec. 3. (Looking ahead, a small item buried within this interview with team president...