Nets' Brook Lopez will return Monday vs. Thunder

Oklahoma City Thunder center Kendrick Perkins won't be cruising to 17 points again Monday night.

Standing in Perkins' way will be Brooklyn Nets big man Brook Lopez, who'll be seeing his first action of the season following a right midfoot sprain. Lopez hasn't appeared in a regular-season game since Dec. 20, 2013, having missed the bulk of the 2013-14 season with a broken right foot.

"I don't think nervous, but anxious," Lopez said Sunday. "Anxious is a good word. I'm excited to play (Monday)."

Perkins scored 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting Saturday against the Denver Nuggets. 

While most of Lopez's value comes at the offensive end, it's on defense where the Nets have struggled early on. Despite a 1-1 record, the Nets rank 28th in defensive efficiency, bleeding 112.8 points per 100 possessions. Most notably, they've allowed opponents to shoot 63.5 percent within five feet of the basket. Opponents shot 52.4 percent in close against Lopez last season, and 57.2 percent the year before.

Offensively, Lopez brings tremendous interior scoring but will force the Nets to play a style contrary to the one they had success with late last season. Mason Plumlee will return to the bench, and the Nets will be unable to get both players enough minutes while also running the hyper-offensive small lineups they've utilized at times, including one in which Mirza Teletovic plays center.

In any case, adding an offensive talent like Lopez is rarely a bad thing, but it may take the offense a few games to adjust to his presence. Last season, Lopez averaged 20.7 points on 56.3 percent shooting, numbers worth adjusting for.