NEW YORK -- Brook Lopez is headed back to the sideline with more foot pain, though the Brooklyn Nets are sure his latest problem is nothing like the one that wrecked his 2011-12 season.
Lopez will miss the next two games because of a mild sprain of his right foot, and the Nets said he will be considered day to day after that. But after getting the results of an X-ray Thursday, general manager Billy King is confident his centre will be back on the floor shortly.
"Everybody agreed that there's been no change, there's not nothing there," King said during a conference call. "There's not a fracture or anything."
Lopez was hurt driving to the basket Wedesday night in the third quarter in a victory at Boston. He came up limping but stayed in the game for the next few minutes before coming out. He briefly returned to the game later but felt pain afterward.
Lopez broke his right foot last December, so given his history the Nets decided to get the X-ray on Thursday after travelling to Orlando. King said it was negative and showed no change from one taken this preseason, adding that the pain Lopez felt was on top of his foot, rather than at the side and bottom when it was fractured.
"If it would have been Deron Williams and he had that pain, we probably wouldn't have gotten an X-ray" King said, referring to the Nets' point guard. "But I think the fact that Brook has had some history with the foot, we wanted to make sure exactly what we're dealing with."
Lopez missed 32 games after breaking his foot against the Knicks last preseason, and an ankle injury after he returned aggravated the foot injury, those injuries costing him another 28 games. Lopez ended up playing in just five games before the Nets shut him down for the season with the team well out of the playoff race.
He is off to a strong start this season, averaging a team-high 18.5 points and 6.8 rebounds while helping the Nets open 10-4 in their first season in Brooklyn. And with a much better bench, the Nets believe they can play without Lopez this season for as long as needed.
"I think we've got a bench. I think Andray Blatche can step in and play, and Reggie Evans," King said. "I think we can sustain much better than we have in the past when an injury happens."
Lopez will sit out games at Orlando on Friday night and Miami on Saturday.
