Carlos Boozer is now an All-Star

TNT's studio crew began debating his replacement possibilities within seconds after Jazz power forward Carlos Boozer was named as an NBA All-Star for the first time in his five-season career.

Not so fast, Chuck. Hold your horses, Magic.

Boozer on Thursday night reiterated what he first suggested Wednesday — that despite a hairline fracture on the fibula bone head leading into his left knee, he still hasn't ruled out taking part in the Feb. 18 All-Star Game at Las Vegas.

"I'm hoping to (play)," the Jazz's leading scorer and rebounder said while icing the knee. "Obviously I won't know until we get much, much closer."

Boozer was hurt last Saturday in Oklahoma City, and on Wednesday the Jazz issued a statement saying "injuries of this nature typically take four to five weeks to fully heal."

"That's the typical, like a normal person," Boozer said.

"But," he added, "I also had both doctors (Lyle Mason, a Jazz team physician, and Richard Ferkel, Boozer's personal orthopedic surgeon) tell me they also have had clients back in two to three weeks."

Boozer also said "common sense tells me that if you come back too soon you can re-fracture it," but, "it's a rapidly healing type of injury."

Such information, however, apparently wasn't passed along to cable-network TNT, which made formal announcement of both Western Conference and Eastern Conference reserves Thursday.

"That's a shame he broke his leg," studio analyst Charles Barkley said when Boozer was called among the West reserves as chosen by a vote of conference coaches, joined by Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki, Denver's Allen Iverson, San Antonio's Tony Parker and Phoenix teammates Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion.

"At least," fellow analyst Magic Johnson added, "he could know he made it."

Conversation on the set soon turned to Western Conference omissions and potential injury replacements for both Boozer and Houston Rockets center Yao Ming, who was named a starter in fan balloting along with San Antonio's Tim Duncan, Minnesota's Kevin Garnett, Houston's Tracy McGrady and Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Among those snubbed: Denver's Carmelo Anthony, the NBA scoring leader whose 15-game suspension for his involvement in a fight during a December game at New York may have prompted some Western coaches to leave him off their ballots.

"If it's based on play," Johnson said, "Carmelo and (Dallas') Josh Howard should be in."

Studio host Ernie Johnson addressed implications, if that's indeed the case, for the Jazz — current owners of the NBA's fifth-best record at 30-17.