Player Recap: Carlos Boozer

by prodigal punk on Apr 30, 2009 11:22 AM MDT Comment 13 comments

[Note by Basketball John, 04/30/09 12:51 PM MDT ]: Here's the first of the player reviews.

After returning home from Beijing late last summer, triumphant, and endeared in the hearts of a nation as a member of the US Olympic team, Boozer had high hopes for the Jazz and much of the media followed suit, expecting the Jazz to challenge the Lakers and Spurs for the top spot in the Western Conference. The talk of this being a contract year was at a low murmur by the time training camp came around and his response, when prodded on the subject, was always the same: he would make amends for last year's Playoff performance, see this year through, and make his decision at the end of the season.

The pre-season, it turns out, was like a crystal ball giving a small glimpse of what was in store for Boozer and the Jazz. He missed the exhibition game against the Lakers and Suns with a sore left hamstring, fearing the tightness could end up in a prolonged injury similar to the one that caused him to miss 49 games in the 2005-2006 season. Eerie. Though the Jazz did not have the best pre-season record they were getting experience and perfecting the lineup.... until Deron Williams dropped with a sprained ankle.

The Surgery and Return

The turmoil continued, though mostly under the breath due to the team concentrating on winning without their All-Star power forward, and the media and fans focus on the emergence of Paul Millsap as a viable starting power forward. With Millsap filling in so adeptly for Boozer the Jazz were able to stay in contention and much of the pressure was taken off of Boozer to rush his recovery. Though he made numerous declarations stating he would be back by certain dates the tendon wasn't cooperating. These setbacks led to additional testing that found a fragment of bone in his knee, explaining the newly arising pain in that area. Surgery was performed successfully during the beginning of January and Boozer hoped to return sometime after the All-Star break.

Fast forward to February 23, 2009 as Boozer makes his return to the starting lineup against the Atlanta Hawks, the team has their complete roster for the first time all season. The Jazz win the next 8 games, partly due to a reinvigoration and the rest attributed to a favorable schedule, with Boozer playing limited minutes and having his best game since his return against the Houston Rockets going for 20 points and 12 boards in 34 minutes. Though Boozer had returned to starter type minutes he admitted that his leg had not reached 100% and probably wouldn't until the post season, and the Jazz's record reflected it as they slid into the playoffs going just 16-15 after Boozer's return.

The Playoffs

The Jazz begin the playoffs as the number eight seed and have the misfortune of drawing the number 1 seeded Lakers juggernaut. At the beginning of the season Booze made the statement that he wanted to redeem himself for his admittedly poor performance in last year's playoffs. Though he never got the chance to do so in the regular season, he performed above expectations during this year's series. During the 5 game series with the Lakers he overcame the difficulty he had last year playing against the 7' Pau Gasol, on both ends of the court. He averaged 20.6 points on 53% FG, lead all players with 13.2 rebounds per game, and had an inspired Game 3 performance in which he tied Karl Malone's playoff record with 16 rebounds in the first half and finished with 22 for the game, along with 23 points, a block, and a steal.

The Future is Unwritten

These days the NBA is short on clever and meaningful nicknames. Every star is now referred to using the same unoriginal nickname creating formula: First letter of name - all subsequent letters + last name (or any derivative) = NBA nickname. C. Paul, D. Wade, C. Booze, or D. How (the most absurd of them all).

After this season however, the best nickname for Carlos Boozer should be The Big Enigma, as there isn't a single person out there that really knows him. It's difficult to get a grasp on what it is that motivates him as a player; to know what drives Carlos Boozer. One of the reasons is the circumstances surrounding his departure from Cleveland are shrouded in mystery, with all parties involved having a slightly different variation of what happened. Add to that his comments this past December about opting out of his contract and its enough to instill a fairly deep seeded mistrust. Despite the fact that it was obvious to everyone what the outcome would be, the fact that he made that statement at that particular time made a very emotional and ardent fan base even more paranoid. Over the past few days he has been adamant that he wishes nothing more than to return to the Utah Jazz and opting out of his contract would only be a necessary step in signing a new long term contract. Still, there's that one hair on the back of the neck of Jazz fans that won't stop standing up. There's that feeling they just can't put their finger on and likely won't feel normal until whatever outcome is decided this summer.

To The Big Enigma:

Jazz fans want to love you. We want you to have that same "awe" about you that Karl had and have the same loyalty that Karl did. As tenacious as they are, Jazz fans are also the most forgiving fans you will ever know. If you want us to understand you, just tell us the truth. Come clean with everything. We are sympathetic. Tell us how hard it was dealing with first, your child's illness, and then your divorce. Explain that it's not about money, necessarily, but more about security- you know, the same thing we worry about with our jobs.

It is important that you back up everything you say. We are tired of hearing about the emphasis on defense and need to be more aggressive in road games. We want to see it. Take the next step to joining that class of superstars that you want to be in and we want to see you in. The only thing separating Carlos Boozer from Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, or Dwight Howard is defense. Average 1.5 blocks per game, show better on the pick and roll, rotate better on screens, and you will see your face in those Nike and Right Guard commercials. This off season seek out The Mailman or Sir Charles and ask them to mentor you, or go back to Coach K and start from the beginning. Finally, tell Jazz fans you're not Karl Malone and that they shouldn't expect you to be. Make sure to jog their memories and let them know that John Stockton and Karl Malone were the exception, not the rule. Remind Jazz fans that you probably won't ever be as good as The Mailman, but that you will try with all you have to give us what he never could.

All comments are the opinion of the commenter and not necessarily that of SLC Dunk or SB Nation.

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fine work

your enigma comments paint him as a lone ranger type. I think you’re right that we all want to embrace him but he makes it difficult to do that because he seems so aloof, and he gives canned answers about energy and D and then all we see of that is him yelling a lot. If we could have the game 3 boozer, of course we would embrace him.

I'll make it coach.

by MTN on Apr 30, 2009 3:06 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

First of all

I agree on the nicknames (though I call him Booze). D-How/D-Ho (whatever) is the worst nickname in the league.

Back to Booze… there are so many worrisome things.
-The injuries for sure. If he can’t stay healthy, there is no way he deserves what he wants, money-wise.
-The other thing that really worries me… his change from game to game. Some games, he’s an absolute force in the paint. He attacks the hoop, he’s making his shots, he even occasionally shows up on D (rare, but still). Game 3, for example. Other games, he’s completely non-existent. And I’m not just basing it on Game 5. I think back to the playoff series against the Lakers last year. Or just random games during the regular season. For the type of money he’s getting paid (and more so with what he wants to get paid), don’t you have to make sure he’s showing up every game (especially in the playoffs) before forking over that much dough?

I can’t think of anything else right now… if I do though, I’ll probably wait till this weekend, when I hope to get my own Booze review post up.

True Blue Jazz
I'm on Twitter
RIP Nick Adenhart. 4/9/09

by UtesFan89 on Apr 30, 2009 5:41 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

my opinion:

boozer doesn’t think he needs to play any defense. he’s achieved everything young kids playing basketball around the world could hope to achieve—high school state title, ncaa championship, 2-time olympian, all-star, multimillion contracts—and he did it all without playing a lick of defense. what would motivate him to start?

if you listen to his post-game comments, he often talks about how he played physical and played great defense. so he either thinks he doesn’t need to play d, or thinks he is a great defender. either way, i don’t see how that’s going to change unless he reaches out to karl malone and karl malone doesn’t let him leave until he gets it.

by moni on Apr 30, 2009 6:25 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Ironically, everyone at Duke lauds Boozer for his hustle and his great defense. I have asked people and that's what they knew him for here at Duke.

The more you try to erase me, the more that I appear.

by clarkpojo on Apr 30, 2009 7:10 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

well then,

he stopped playing d somewhere between cleveland and salt lake city (since it’s also been pointed out elsewhere that he used to block some shots when he was a cav).

by moni on Apr 30, 2009 8:51 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Blocks/year

02-03: Cleveland… 81 games, 50 blocks
03-04: Cleveland… 75 games, 55 blocks
04-05: Utah… 51 games, 24 blocks
05-06: Utah… 33 games, 8 blocks
06-07: Utah… 74 games, 21 blocks
07-08: Utah… 81 games, 41 blocks
08-09: Utah… 37 games, 7 blocks

Somewhere on the way to Utah, he both picked up the injury bug, and forgot how to block shots. Or maybe he lucked into blocks in Cleveland playing alongside Z (who stands at 7’3), while in Utah, he plays alongside Okur (6’11). (By the way, I have to say, I’m surprised at the number of blocks Okur gets per year…) Also, worth noticing… his 2 years in Cleveland, he averaged 2.8 & 2.7 fouls/game. In Utah, he’s averaged 3.5, 3.2, 2.9, 3.6 & 3.6 fouls/game.

I mean, I imagine it’s easier to pick up blocks when you’ve got a 7’3 guy backing you up in the paint (no one wants to shoot at a shot-blocker, they try to the other side… more attempts=more blocks?).

Maybe the Jazz just need to get a big shot-blocker alongside Booze?

True Blue Jazz
I'm on Twitter
RIP Nick Adenhart. 4/9/09

by UtesFan89 on May 1, 2009 6:10 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

This has been my stance for about 2 seasons now.

If you put either Okur or Boozer with a shot blocker, either of them would look like good to great defenders. It is having them both start together that gives us our problems.

The more you try to erase me, the more that I appear.

by clarkpojo on May 1, 2009 6:15 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

I saw this article that Monson wrote and had to laugh at his choice of words

Boozer, who has missed one-third of the Jazz’s games during his time here, won’t — shouldn’t — be with the Jazz by the midway point of next season. If he doesn’t opt out, he’ll be traded and become a 20-and-10 enigma for some other team.

by prodigal punk on May 1, 2009 11:23 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Oops

here’s the article:

by prodigal punk on May 1, 2009 11:23 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

You scooped Monson

Awesome. That should be SLCDunk’s new goal – to scoop the professional media… although, as I write this, I realize that the word scoop probably applies only to news, not opinion…. but you get the idea. We should out-opine the pros, and before them.

I'll make it coach.

by MTN on May 1, 2009 12:50 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs