Boozer is a star who overcame adversity

Two belonged to Jazz coach Jerry Sloan.

Two others were those of Williams.

"He was upset," Williams said. "He only played a (few) minutes the first (exhibition) game. He was like, 'Man, I want to play more.' I think Coach saw that, and gave him the minutes, and he adjusted quickly."

Did he ever, immediately resuming his status as the Jazz's leading scorer and rebounder.

Western Conference coaches took notice too, and made him an All-Star reserve for a second straight season.

"I think he's a very, very talented guy," Sloan said of Boozer, who did not play in last season's All-Star Game at Las Vegas because of a fractured fibula head in his left leg.

"I told him, like I told a couple of guys, 'Where do you want to be? I can't do anything about it; you have to be the guy that puts the work in. We'll get you shots. ... But the rest is all left up to you."

The crux of Boozer's success, Sloan suggested, comes from knowing the difference between a quality free-goal attempt and a questionable one.

"We try to do what we can where we think we have an opportunity to get a good shot," the Jazz coach said, "and he's one of those guys that's been able to do that.

"The other thing," Sloan added with regard to Williams, "is Deron's able to get him the ball."

Boozer's slow but consistent range expansion also has aided his game, reminiscent of another Jazz All-Star power forward from glory days gone by — and the help he got from his point.

"No. 1, you have to look at how he plays. He's able to shoot the ball out on the perimeter," Sloan said. "Karl Malone came, and when he was here he became a much-better shooter around the free-throw line and got shots in there.

"Obviously John (Stockton) could find him," Sloan added, "and knew that if he had the open shot he could shoot it."

It's all part of the maturation process for Boozer, a 26-year-old who played his first two NBA seasons in Cleveland before hitting paydirt in 2004 with a six-year, $68 million contract from the Jazz.

"Great players in this league, every year they do something a little bit better, or something a little bit different," Sloan said. "I think (Boozer) deserves a lot of credit ... for being able to understand that."

What Boozer added this season, Sloan suggested, is simply that "he's shooting the ball better out on the floor."

That means a bit less post-up play down low in what is increasingly becoming a perimeter players' league, even though his ability to play inside is what makes him so valuable for the United States in Olympic-style play.