Brook Lopez News: Nets C to Make Season Debut Monday
At $93,741,270, the Brooklyn Nets have the highest pay roll in the NBA. Much of that goes to their mega-millions backcourt of Deron Williams and Joe Johnson, but a healthy $15,719,063 goes to a player, Brook Lopez, who can’t be just that: healthy.
On Monday, November 3, Lopez will return from a foot injury to make his 2014-15 season debut against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
10 months after undergoing complicated foot surgery, Brook Lopez will make his return to regular season play tonight: http://t.co/DbxxbDiwoX
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) November 3, 2014
Per Mike Mazzeo of ESPN New York, Lopez spoke with reporters about his pending debut.
"“I don’t think nervous, but anxious. Anxious is a good word,” Lopez said after going through a full practice Sunday. “I’m excited to play tomorrow. I wish it was right now.”“It’s like Christmas,” Lopez said."
Lopez last played a regular season game on December 20, 2013, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t ready.
"“I think I’m just gonna have to come out and be mentally prepared,” Lopez said. “Make sure I have the [offensive] sets down, the defensive plays. It’s tough coming in from doing pretty much nothing to playing pretty much a full NBA game with the speed of the game. … It’s gonna take a lot of preparedness, but I’ll be ready.”"
This is a monumental occurrence for the Nets.
Lopez, 26, led all centers in scoring in 2012-13 and was well on his way to repeating the feat in 2013-14. He’d been putting up 20.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocks before going down just 17 games into the season.
When he’s healthy, Lopez is one of the league’s elite offensive big men.
Unfortunately, he’s battled a nagging and recurring foot injury that has shortened two of his seasons. Lopez played just five games in 2011-12 and was active in 17 during the 2013-14 campaign.
In a contradiction to the injury-prone label, Lopez played in all 82 games in each of his first three seasons and was active for a strong 74 in 2012-13. It’s as confusing as it seems.
Given his history, Lopez has reasonable double placed upon him. He’s just as likely to play the rest of the season with no pause as he is to miss a majority of 2014-15, which makes him the ultimate wildcard.
Fortunately, he’s back in black and white. He’ll serve as the man in the middle for Lionel Hollins‘ defense and anchor the offense as a defense-collapsing scorer who can finish as well as any down low.
Brooklyn will need Lopez at his best to make a push for the playoffs in 2014-15.