The 2008-09 NBA season tips off tonight for the Utah Jazz, so don't be surprised if you see C.J. Miles bouncing around town.

On the other hand, be surprised — very surprised — if you do see Jerry Sloan jumping up and down with him.

"Oh, man. I'm ecstatic about it. I'm really pumped up about it. I mean, I don't even know what to say," Miles, the newly appointed Jazz starting small forward, said in anticipation of the 7 p.m. game against the Denver Nuggets. "I'm excited for it. I'm ready to go. I'm ready to play."

Sloan is a bit more subdued heading into his 21st season as Utah's head coach.

"It's one game and you get prepared for that one game just like you would the 50th game," he said. "If you put more emphasis on one and say this is the most important game and get carried away with it, you really get into problems."

Not surprisingly, some are more exuberant in their youth than others.

All-Star forward Carlos Boozer is excited that the Jazz get to go at it again after making an earlier-than-hoped-for exit from the 2008 playoffs at the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals. He agreed that the anticipation makes for a special day, kinda like Dec. 25.

"It's like Christmas morning. It's like that first day of school when you get to high school. It's like that first date you get to go on with that girl you've been waiting to go out with for three or four weeks," he said. "For us, it's going to be the first chance we get to show who we are."

Though he's beginning his 12th season, backup point guard Brevin Knight said he always has butterflies before games — even more so perhaps tonight because it's his first real game with Utah.

"It'll be exciting," he said. "It's always good to be done with the preseason.... You always want to play when it counts."

Andrei Kirilenko, who'll come off the bench to begin his eighth NBA season, said he doesn't get too hyped up over openers.

"It's a little bit more important game than preseason, so we need to be a little bit more careful and more concentrated, but that's about it," he said.

Don't mind the 21-year-old Miles if he doesn't emulate his teammates, who are taking a cool, calm and collected approach. He admits he'll be "pumped up the whole day."

"You got all this extra energy because it's a new year," he added. "Everybody's ready, though. It'll be fun."

Ronnie Price, who's starting in place of injured point guard Deron Williams, agrees.

"It's unreal," he said. "No other feeling like that in the world to me. The fans make it happen."