NEW YORK -- Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez said Tuesday he participated in his first few games of five-on-five over the past two days and felt just fine afterward. It’s yet another encouraging step for Lopez, who is coming back from offseason foot and ankle surgeries.
“It was great,” Lopez said Tuesday at a community event in Harlem. “I got my second day of five-on-five in today. It’s been going well. It feels good to be back out there with the guys. Everyone’s been out there, and everyone looks good. It’s been good seeing Mase [Mason Plumlee] out there being vocal, doing his thing and seeing how much he learned over the summer [playing with Team USA].”
As Lopez eases his way back into playing form, patience is going to be important. Nets GM Billy King told reporters Monday that the 26-year-old All-Star would likely not be participating in both sessions of two-a-day practices at the start of training camp (Day 1 is Saturday).
“It’s tough,” Lopez said. “Timmy [trainer Tim Walsh] yanked me after three games yesterday. I wasn’t happy about it. I played five or six today. I’m getting back into it. I’ll comply. I was difficult yesterday. I wasn’t happy to be pulled early, but I understand where it’s coming from. It’s just I understand it’ll take a while, I have to be patient. I’ve been patient since January already, so what’s another few weeks.”
Any tentativeness in his movement given he’s coming off surgery?
“No. I feel good out there. There’s no problems,” Lopez said. “I feel great out there. I don’t wanna leave the court.”
Lopez said he has not heard anything from the team about limiting his minutes or possibly not playing in both games of back-to-back sets.
Lopez, who appeared in just 17 games last season before being lost for the year, is looking forward to playing more with Kevin Garnett. Garnett, entering his 20th and perhaps final season in the NBA, will start at power forward alongside Lopez, new coach Lionel Hollins said recently.
“Absolutely,” Lopez said. “And we’re so blessed with the frontcourt we have, when you look at all our guys. We can mix [lineups up front] in a variety of ways.”
Lopez is known for his ability to score. He averaged 20.7 points on 56.3 percent shooting and finished with an exceptional player efficiency rating of 25.50.
He has taken several strides defensively, but that’s where Hollins really wants him to improve. In a small sample size in 2013-14, Lopez blocked nearly two shots a game, while holding opponents to 39.5 percent shooting at the rim.
Asked where he needs to improve, Lopez said, “I think it just takes being vocal, and then working on my lateral quickness. But the most important thing is our team defense. Obviously you’re only as strong as your weakest link -- we have a lot of guys that are great defenders and great team defenders -- and I hope to learn from them. I was learning from KG last season, and even as I sat on the sideline last season I watched him play, so I expect to learn from him and guys like AK [Andrei Kirilenko] more and more.”
Lopez mentioned specifically about improving his pick-and-roll defense, though he is still waiting to see how Hollins’ defensive system is going to work.
Asked about the team’s new mantra of letting its play do the talking, Lopez, never one to boast, said, “I think every year I say the same thing: I want to win, regardless. ... I’m not gonna talk-trash and that’s the bottom line. Obviously our guys wanna come in and win games.”
• Here’s how Lopez described his recent workouts with his teammates: “I could go down the list. Immediately Jarrett [Jack] pops to mind, Sergey [Karasev] and Bojan [Bogdanovic]. They’ve been great for us. I think Jarrett, his leadership ability as well as his talents on the floor, and I think Sergey surprised me a lot. I didn’t get to see him a lot last year, I don’t know how often he played. And just hearing that [he played 22 games] surprises me from what I’ve seen of him. And then Bojan, I heard good things about him from the World Cup and seeing him step on the court with us, I think he has Mirza [Teletovic] to learn from first-hand coming from overseas and into the league. And Mirza, once he got an opportunity he relished it, and that could make the transition easier for Bojan.”
As for Deron Williams, Lopez said, “He looks great. He looks completely healthy, and I think back to the way he was two seasons ago.”
• At Tuesday's event, Lopez was teaming up with actress KeKe Palmer and Food Bank For New York City. The goal of the event, which took place at the Opportunity Charter School, was to encourage Harlem Teens to “change one thing” with their diet and make smarter and healthier decisions when eating.