Brook Lopez hasn’t exactly been focusing on basketball since undergoing surgery on his right foot last month.
“I’ve been reading a lot,” Lopez said during a sitdown with reporters during Saturday night’s 101-90 loss by the Nets to the Heat. “Comics, novels, as well. I’ve been writing, drawing. … I haven’t drawn in a few months prior to this, so it’s good to get a chance to create a lot and spend some time doing that.”
No, the Nets’ 7-foot center hasn’t been spending every second watching the NBA since he found out after the Nets’ second preseason game against the Knicks at the Garden that he had a stress fracture in the fifth metatarsal in his right foot.
Instead, he has been trying not to think about the fact he has been unable to be on the court and helping his teammates, who take the court tonight against the Hawks at Newark’s Prudential Center, and could desperately use his inside presence to help balance their offense.
Without Lopez, who averaged just over 20 points per game last year, the Nets don’t have a single player on their roster who is a reliable scoring option in the paint. Because of that, they have been forced to become a one-dimensional offense centered around 3-point shooting.
And with their 3-point shooters struggling for much of the early going, that has left the Nets with one of the league’s worst offenses.
“We want our 3-point shooters to keep on shooting,” coach Avery Johnson said. “That’s a big weapon for us, especially without Lopez [and] not having a post-up game. We need our guys to penetrate, pass and take their shots.”
Lopez said he was stunned when he learned he had the stress fracture in his right foot. He said the only reason it was discovered in the first place was because of a precautionary decision by Nets athletic trainer Tim Walsh to have Lopez go for an X-ray because he tweaked his ankle.
“I didn’t see it coming at all,” Lopez said. “I thought it was just some sort of tweaked ankle or something like that, nothing big. Thankfully, Timmy, whenever anybody’s tweaked an ankle or something like that, he’s always had them get an X-ray, just in case, and it worked out for the best this time.”
For a player like Lopez, who is 7-feet tall and weighs over 250 pounds, any foot injury is cause for concern, and Lopez admitted seeing a player like Yao Ming’s career end because of repeated foot injuries is a scary thing to think about.
But Lopez also said he believes the treatment he has been receiving will prevent that from being an issue.
“I’ve never spoken to them about [re-injury],” Lopez said. “I’m confident in the quality of care we have here … there’s no question we have probably one of, if not the best staffs in the country.”
Johnson said that Lopez’s rehab has gone as planned, and Lopez said he could begin some spot shooting as soon as next week. After his brother Robin, who plays for the Suns, had the same injury, and same surgery, two years ago and returned in seven weeks, Lopez hopes to be that fortunate.
“He’s been doing well,” Lopez said, “so I guess if somehow the injury runs in the family, hopefully the recovery runs in it, as well.”