Boozer confident he'll be an NBA All-Star again

LAS VEGAS — Carlos Boozer surveyed the scene, soaked it in and made a vow.

The Jazz's leading scorer and rebounder was taking part in a league-mandated media session, even though an injury will keep him from playing in tonight's All-Star Game.

"I really wish I was healthy for it," said Boozer, selected by Western Conference coaches as a reserve. "But I'm not looking at it in that light. I'm looking at it as, 'It's a great atmosphere.'

"I know I'll be back," added Boozer, a first-time All-Star, "so I'm not worried about it."

Boozer has been sidelined since Jan. 27, when he sustained a stress fracture in the fibula head leading in his left knee.

He hasn't ruled out returning as early as Tuesday vs. Portland, but reality suggests that — even if an X-ray to be taken Monday shows the bone is fully healed — he may miss at least a game or two or more before getting back into playing shape.

LESSER OF TWO EVILS: Jazz All-Star Mehmet Okur, who will play tonight, and his wife, Yeliz, don't gamble. So what did Yeliz do while her husbanded tended to media obligations here in Las Vegas?

"She's shopping," Okur said.

GO CHARLES: Okur was one of the few All-Stars who publicly predicted TNT commentator and ex-NBA star Charles Barkley would beat longtime referee Dick Bavetta — a favorite of Jazz fans for his NBA Finals work — in a footrace Saturday.

Turns out Okur could have been a big winner had he been a gambler.

Barkley and Bavetta went three-and-a-half lengths of the court. Barkley won, and even taunted Bavetta by crossing the finish-line backward.

Afterward, Barkley — known for high-stakes gambling exploits — looked at a $50,000 check that will be presented to charity on his behalf and called it "two blackjack hands."

Bavetta, meanwhile, took the loss in stride.

"As an official, in all my years," the much-older Bavetta said, "I've learned never take myself too seriously."

ON SECOND THOUGHT: Amid the initial euphoria of being named a first-time All-Star, Okur suggested it was a bigger deal than winning an NBA title with Detroit — because he played a mostly reserve role for the Pistons.

Now, he's not so sure.