Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez is now probable to play in Friday night's game against the Detroit Pistons after missing seven straight games with a right foot sprain.

"I am pretty hopeful that I'm going to play tonight," Lopez said after Friday's morning shootaround.

Lopez worked out on Wednesday and participated in a 3-on-3 full-court workout with his teammates on Thursday.

"I felt pretty good," Lopez said. "I've been itching to get back out there for a while now. We've been taking it slow. We'll see how I feel when I get back tonight."

Lopez has been out since Nov. 28. He underwent numerous test -- including a precautionary MRI -- that showed the injury was unrelated to the two right foot fractures he suffered last season.

The Nets (12-9) are just 2-5 since Lopez got hurt. They have been allowing their opponents to score 99.9 points per game and shoot 49.8 percent from the field during that stretch after allowing just 90.7 points on 44.9 percent shooting through the first 14 games.

Andray Blatche has filled in admirably for Lopez, averaging 17.6 points and 8.9 rebounds in his absence. Reggie Evans has started the last three games at power forward with Blatche.

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