EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.—The corner locker had been cleared out quickly. For perhaps the first time this season, Brook Lopez had taken advantage of his prime position by the exit.

Frustrated by the Thunder into a 10-point, seven-rebound performance on Monday at the IZOD Center, the Nets' heretofore most-consistent player offered no explanation following a 105-89 loss that dropped the team to 2-29 on the season. Foul plagued and in a foul mood, any analysis might well have been of the four-letter variety.

"I mean, Brook's been playing well for us all year," said shooting guard Courtney Lee, who scored 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting. "Just to say one game where he's struggling is the cause (of a loss), I wouldn't say that. Brook's an excellent player and he'll rebound from this. Brook was able to block shots, get rebounds and set good screens; he impacted the game in different ways."

Lopez is in the midst of a stellar sophomore season, leading all NBA centers with 18.7 PPG while pulling down 9.6 boards and blocking 2.0 shots per game. He's getting to the line six times a game and converting .831 of his free-throws. Most importantly for a Nets team ravaged by injury, Lopez has played in all 31 games while averaging a team-high 36.3 minutes.

But the 21-year-old has struggled of late. Last Wednesday against Minnesota, Lopez shot only 2-of-8 from the floor and 5-of-10 at the line, finishing with nine points and 10 rebounds (though he dished seven assists). And despite a 17-point, 11-rebound, three-block outing filling the stat sheet against the Rockets, his second half was hollow: four points and five rebounds as the game slipped away.

When Lopez picked up two fouls in the first six minutes against Oklahoma City, it seemed to affect his demeanor, and he was never able to find a flow, even as Yi Jianlian matched his career-high with 29 points. Leading 72-70 late in the third, the Nets were outscored 35-17 during the last 17 minutes.

"It's hurt us with those easy points inside that we depend on," said point guard Devin Harris, who dished out 11 assists – two of them to Lopez. "Teams are doing a great job of fronting him and trapping him and frustrating him. Defensively, getting those quick fouls takes him out of the game a little bit. He's just got to be a little mentally tougher at that point in time and he's got to feel the game through.

"When they trap him, they're coming hard. We move it around, get other guys going and when they kind of forget about him or don't pay that much attention, that's when we punch it back into him. And that's where he has to be aggressive, knowing the flow of the game and when to get your teammates the ball."

Harris and coach/GM Kiki Vandeweghe both pointed out that Lopez can most benefit from improved positioning against opponents who front him, and better reactions within the offensive sets to double-teams and traps in the post. It is sometimes hard to remember Lopez is only 21, and that center is normally a much more difficult NBA position than the California native makes it appear.

Only 18 months ago, Lopez plummeted from a potential top-three draft pick to the Nets at No. 10, a perceived lack of athleticism or defensive presence undermining his assets; he was the "offensive" Lopez twin, dominant in a college game devoid of sizable peers. And yet it now seems unreasonable to expect anything except a slew of 20-10 seasons and a career of clashes with Dwight Howard for Eastern Conference center supremacy.

"I think everyone has to understand he's still a young center," Vandeweghe said. "You've got everyone in the league now keying on him: they're trying to get the ball out of his hands, they're doubling him, they're clogging the paint. So Brook is an extremely unselfish player and he's been more of a passer.

"I think that, for Brook, it's going to take time to learn how – when they've got the paint covered – to swing the ball and go to different sides. And it's up to us to get the ball to him in places where he can score and be effective."

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