There are two words Nets center Brook Lopez does not want to hear.
No, not “Dwight Howard.” But you’re close.
Try “Yao Ming.”
Lopez, the Nets 7-foot center who is rehabbing a broken foot suffered in the second and last preseason game, knows about all the whispers regarding big guys who suffer broken feet. Lopez had played three seasons without missing a game. Then he broke his foot. He would be very happy not being reminded Yao missed two games in his first two seasons then missed 168 over his final five.
So Lopez has heard it, but he insists he is not thinking — or concerned — about suffering a similar fate.
“Really, I haven’t been worried about it. I’ve heard about that a few times throughout this process,” said Lopez, who has no timetable for his return, but hopes to be back in February. “It hasn’t worried me one bit because of the people I have taking care of me.”
Yao suffered chronic, repeated setbacks, but Lopez said with the Nets medical personnel (read: athletic trainer Tim Walsh) watching him like a hawk, he has put aside any fears he will re-injure the foot.
“It’s because the guys behind the scenes are taking care of me,” said Lopez, whose inside presence has been desperately missed by the Nets as they turn to the 3-point shot more and more to compensate. “I took a few jump shots the other day. Where I actually jumped a little, you know? And they shut me down right away. They came and pulled me off. They didn’t want any jumping.
“And I’m honestly not sure what Yao’s injury was.”
Lopez is starting to increase his rehab work — jump shot excluded, of course. He power walked on Wednesday. He has “gotten shots up and lifted” since then. And while he stresses he loves his teammates and the situation (so, yeah, maybe all the Howard stuff drives him batty), he says sitting and watching is excruciating.
“I love being on the bench with the guys and cheering and all that, but at the same time, part of me just wants to be out there,” Lopez said. “A big part.”
And Lopez, who has heard all the Howard rumors, knows how much his presence is missed, especially when the Nets regularly get trashed on points in the paint.
“It’s been tough for me regardless, just watching basketball for me not to say, ‘Oh, this is what I’d do in that situation, I’d just do that,’ ” Lopez said. “I think a lot of players do that. That’s how they react. It’s been good to see the guys play together and see them play without me for my first time ever and see what they’ve come to rely on, what their go-to is. Definitely they’ve found stuff that, coupled with me when I come back, will be very effective.”
He would love to have a target date for a return, but he insists the Nets won’t reveal one. He can ask, they won’t tell. Figure after the All-Star break. But that’s guesswork.
“Timmy hasn’t told me a date, I don’t know when it is,” he said with a shrug. “Sometime in February, but I don’t honestly know.”
fred.kerber@nypost.com