Boozer, Okur still on mend

Carlos Boozer did not practice Sunday. Mehmet Okur did to a degree, but he did not take part in any contact drills.

Still, Jazz coach Jerry Sloan chose to look at the bright side as his two NBA All-Star Game selections from last season continue to recover from injuries that may or may not keep them out of tonight's EnergySolutions Arena game against Dwyane Wade, Shaquille O'Neal and the Miami Heat.

"Everybody's upright," Sloan said. "That's about the best sign you can have."

Anyone looking for tea leaves more insightful than that, however, best keep searching.

Boozer did say the right ankle he sprained in last Wednesday's win at Philadelphia was feeling much better. It kept him out of last Friday's win over Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers.

"It was swollen. It was painful. It wasn't stable (Friday) ... But it's gotten a lot better," the Jazz's starting power forward said Sunday. "A lot better.

"I think I'm gonna be able to go," Utah's leading scorer and rebounder added. "I'm going take care of it ... then get it on (tonight)."

And Okur did say the back that was bothered by muscle spasms in Philly also seemed to be on the mend. He also missed the Lakers game.

"I feel better the last couple days," the Jazz's starting center said Sunday. "It really feels good now ... way better."

Yet all that sounds suspiciously similar to how the two were talking prior to Friday's game, and both wound up sitting out the ESPN-televised affair.

Boozer, as it turns out, says the ankle was worse than he thought it would be when adrenaline carried him through the second half of the game against the 76ers.

"When we flew home on the that five-and-a-half flight (from Philadelphia to Salt Lake City)," he said, "it blew up on me like a balloon."

And Okur says his back was so sore Friday that he choose to ice it down in the locker room rather than sit in those ridiculously tiny chairs behind the Jazz bench.

"I want to go (tonight)," he said, "but I have to see myself first" how the back feels in this morning's shootaround and tonight's pre-game warmups.

All the uncertainty over the two big men hovers at the most inopportune of times, what with a certain giant known best as Shaq stopping in town tonight.

Even in his aging state at 35 years old, O'Neal's mere presence combined with the two injuries means Sloan has some decision-making to do.

The Jazz coach said Sunday that rookie Kyrylo Fesenko, recalled Friday from their Utah Flash D-League affiliate, will stick around as long at least as there are questions surrounding Boozer and Okur.

And even if both Boozer and Okur are good to go tonight, the big Ukrainian may wind up dressing for his second NBA game anyway.