Utah Jazz: Team's best chance for an NBA All-Star is Okur

By Tim Buckley, Deseret News

Published: Tuesday, Jan. 20 2009 12:00 a.m. MST

Mehmet Okur, who scored 43 points against the Indiana Pacers last week, has been getting some All-Star consideration.

Tom Smart, Deseret News

Summary

Even after he missed 13 games with a sprained ankle, Deron Williams held out hope for making his first appearance in the NBA All-Star Game.

But after playing for quite some time at less than 100 percent because of the ankle, the Jazz point guard hasn't been talking that way lately.

Paul Millsap has offered All-Star effort as the Jazz's primary replacement starter at power forward for injured two-time All-Star Carlos Boozer, and his rebounding numbers as a starter — 11 per game — are All-Star quality as well.

But his 17.4 points-per-game scoring average as a starter is at least 3.5 below Boozer's averages during his All-Star seasons. He's missed a half-dozen games in the last three-and-a-half weeks with knee injuries. And he knows that whenever Boozer returns he'll be back — just like he was before Boozer hurt his knee — to his role as a reserve.

"It's tough to think like that," he said of All-Star possibilities, "when you're coming off the bench."

Halfway through their 2008-09 season, then, perhaps the most convincing case the Jazz have for an All-Star belongs to center Mehmet Okur.

Just this weekend, in fact, the Boston Globe listed Okur — along with Phoenix's Shaquille O'Neal, Minnesota's Al Jefferson and Denver's Nene — among Western Conference centers vying a reserve spot in the Feb. 15 All-Star Game at Phoenix.

"I'm playing with a lot of confidence," Okur, who recently had a career-high 43-point game against Indiana, said Monday. "And my teammates (are) doing (a) good job. They just keep throwing it to me and tell me to keep shooting, and they're trusting me."

Getting Okur to Phoenix could be a tough sell, though, especially considering Utah's 24-17 record.

Yet the sharpshooter, an injury-replacement All-Star in 2007, has a better field-goal percentage (49.8) and better 3-point shooting percentage (42.7) at the midway point than his best in any prior NBA season.

His 17.8 points per game scoring average is a pinch better than that during his All-Star season (17.6), and just a bit off his 2005-06 season best of 18.0.

His free-throw percentage (83.6) isn't too far off his prior season-best either, prompting ESPN.com to recently call Okur the only player besides Orlando's Jameer Nelson with at least four years in the league who "is positioned for career highs in all shooting categories."

So how's he done it?

"Especially when we play without Boozer," Okur said, "I start to mix up my game ... put the ball on the floor, back to the basket.

"Usually when I play with Boozer he stays more on the inside and I stay more on the outside," he added. "Now I'm more (inside-out), get to the free-throw line and get myself going. I feel good."

Lots of money