Jazz finally get the Boozer they expected

By KURT KRAGTHORPE
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
It is almost a code phrase, a kind of endorsement that what Larry Miller is about to say is something he really believes.

"I told Gail . . ."

If it's really meaningful, the Utah Jazz owner's wife hears it first, and then it's shared with the public.

Here's what Larry recently told Gail about Carlos Boozer: "That's exactly what we thought we were getting."

Boozer's emergence was more than two years in the making, but it's happening now. The healthy, happy forward is the symbol of the Jazz's 7-1 start of a season filled with promise and captured by a word with multiple definitions: rebounding.

Boozer ranks fourth in the NBA in that category with a 12.6 average, and rebounding covers the makeover of his image, the atmosphere of this team and even the owner's interest level, all of which were at all-time lows as of last November.

Tuesday's 16-point, 15-rebound, seven-assist performance in a win over the Los Angeles Clippers came on the one-year anniversary of Boozer aggravating his hamstring injury during a pregame workout that was supposed to clear him to play soon. Instead, it resulted in his absence for nearly three more months.

Coincidentally or not, that was the night Miller broke into a timeout huddle and ripped his players during a loss to New York, then stayed away from the Delta Center for several weeks to keep from displaying any more disgust.

It was a much different scene Tuesday night, when the Jazz scored 50 more points against the Clippers than they did against the Knicks that night. Miller stuck around long after the game to chat with the coaching staff, then walked out of the building contentedly, concluding, "It's just been fun."

Earlier, in the locker room, Boozer was saying, "It's a blast, man. . . . We're in a great groove."

And it's all because Boozer is playing like the guy the Jazz thought they were getting when they plucked him from Cleveland with a $68 million contract offer. Last year, it was looking like the worst money ever spent. These days, Boozer is an NBA bargain _ a consistent scorer and rebounder who's becoming a team leader and turns 25 only next week.

This was the State of Boozer last November: The Jazz were basically having the team orthopedist testify to the media about how genuinely Boozer was hurt, knowing that public opinion was suggesting otherwise, amid theories about how he was trying to force a trade by not playing.

"What I don't understand," Miller said, looking back, "is why there's been so much controversy and question."

Oh, he knows. It was Miller himself who publicly questioned Boozer's toughness in the middle of the 2004-05 season, right before a foot injury sidelined Boozer for the rest of the year. Miller says he and Boozer patched things up quickly and that he's remained a "strong advocate" of the fifth-year pro, but those comments hovered over Boozer well into last season, before the hamstring finally healed.

Boozer played well once he returned, averaging 16.3 points and 8.6 rebounds in 33 games, but the Jazz missed the playoffs for a third straight year and questions persisted about his future in Utah, particularly when it came to pre-draft trade rumors in June.

Assuming the Jazz had chances to trade him, it's the best move that senior vice president Kevin O'Connor never made. Now that Boozer is healthy and productive, O'Connor deserves credit for pursuing and signing him in 2004 _ and keeping him.

While saying he's "not worried about outside opinion," Boozer is obviously happy to be showing what he can do in Utah, after all the doubting.

"Anytime you go through turmoil and tough times, it's so much sweeter when you're healthy and you can go out there and do what you love to do," he said.

Second-year point guard Deron Williams and Boozer are developing a relationship that _ am I authorized to say this? _ resembles Stockton-to-Malone, when they run the pick-and-roll. They seem to support one another well, while recognizing that this is already becoming their team.

On the court, "I look for him, because I know he's going to finish for me," Williams said.

Boozer was distributing the ball nicely himself Tuesday, matching Williams' seven assists. Reminded that he was not far from a triple-double, Boozer winked and said, "Time ran out."

The way Boozer is playing, the good times may be coming back for Miller and everybody else in Jazzland.