This is what happens when you hang around with other world-class athletes - swimmers and water polo players, mostly - who would just as soon talk about the old days.

"Ha!" Lopez said with his usual giggle, when the subject came up. "To be honest with you, I don't know if the NBA was even discussed. I think as far as all these guys are concerned, I'm just doing all right."

Tough crowd.

But there's a reason for this.

"I think everyone back home kind of expected this," said Chris Lopez, a 27-year-old artist who lives with his brother this season in New Jersey. "His friends always knew he could play, and they don't think of him as a player, really.

"I personally knew he was ready to take off, because getting into the starting lineup was important for him. Brook's been a starter his whole life, and it's a confidence (builder) with him. He's a young player, and it reminds him that he's an essential part of the team. All players are, but when you start you have to set the tone. And when Brook is in that frame of mind - that he has to take one-fifth of this on his back - he's at his best."

The Nets are 5-2 since their 20-year-old rookie became a starter, and in those seven games he's averaged 15.0 points on 50 percent shooting, 9.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks.

But he's more than that, really. In less than a month, he has already established himself as the Nets' third-best player - the kind of offensive fulcrum that they can play through for quarters at a time. And he is showing more dimensions every night - not only more shooting range or a nasty streak around the rim - but shades of gray that weren't in his game a month ago, when he wasn't sure of his role.

As Atlanta Hawks' coach Mike Woodson put it after watching Lopez's first start, this kid is a load.

"He's pretty good, and he's learning pretty quickly," said teammate Josh Boone, who passed the baton after suffering an ankle contusion two weeks ago. "He can score on pretty much anybody in this league. There hasn't been anyone yet that he has come against who has forced him to rethink his move. He's done a great job."

This is how great Lopez has been: It is no longer an issue whether Boone can get his old job back. The issue is whether Boone - a quality player in every respect - can get his fair share of minutes back.

Because Lopez's confidence level is growing exponentially with each game, with stats to match.

"Look at what he's done," Lawrence Frank said yesterday. "There's no one who can't say he's been very, very effective."

"This whole time it's been a confidence issue," the 7-foot Lopez said. "Now things are going well for me, and I'm in a good situation with the coaches and players, they want me to do well; and Chris is always there for me. If I make a mistake, they tell me to not worry and make the next play - it takes a big load off my back."

* Notes: The Nets worked out at the Kings' practice facility yesterday before flying to Salt Lake City, where they play the Jazz (without Carlos Boozer) tonight. Vince Carter said his sore hamstring won't keep him from exploding as he normally does. "A little tender, that's all," he said. . . .Chris Douglas-Roberts, whose knee has been very cooperative throughout rehab, had his first full practice, but he was set back by a bad cold.