Utah Jazz Olympians enjoy opting out of early practice

BOISE — Three Olympians got a free pass from the first session of two-a-days when the Jazz opened training camp Tuesday at Boise State University.

That's expected to be the case again today, and for the conclusion of two-a-days Thursday at Taco Bell Arena here.

It's all because starters Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer and Andrei Kirilenko had a heavy dose of international play and practice during the summer.

"We want to help them be ready to play when the season starts," Sloan said. "You don't want to overdo it (now).

"They won't miss much, because they pretty much know what we're doing," he added. "We're not gonna be set back because (of that)."

It's a much-appreciated philosophy.

"My body was feeling real bad when we got back from Beijing," said Williams, who along with Boozer played on USA Basketball's gold medal-winning entry at the Summer Games in China.

"Two years playing pretty much non-stop, your knees start getting a little heavy," Williams said. "I gained a little weight over there, because of inactivity, eating late and eating bad."

All of which briefly was cause for concern.

"I was almost dreading the season," Williams said. "But (not) now, after a couple weeks of getting back in my workout routine, eating right, losing a couple pounds."

Williams suggested going only once a day while teammates go twice should further ease the transition.

"I'm in great shape now as it is. I know the offense," he said. "I'd be ready to go if we didn't practice at all. Hint, hint."

Williams was kidding.

Kirilenko and Boozer, though, similarly embrace the one-a-day approach.

"I don't have a problem with that," said Kirilenko, who practiced twice daily for about a month before leading his native Russia in Beijing.

"We've been playing a lot in the summertime," Boozer added, "and it's gonna help us in the long run."

Even with that established, Jazz management insists it stills considers camp and preseason play critical.

"The emphasis is to get ready for the season ... because winning those couple of games early is just as important as winning those couple of games late," general manager Kevin O'Connor said.