Utah Jazz on road as Boozer plays at an All-Star level

SALT LAKE CITY — It's been a year since the Utah Jazz played that memorable game in New Jersey and since Carlos Boozer made that even more memorable statement.

Now the Jazz are back at the Meadowlands where they'll take on the two-win Nets tonight, almost exactly a year after rallying from 22 points down for a riveting road win.

Some things have certainly changed since that December night in 2008 when the then-injured Boozer proclaimed to an ESPN.com reporter: "I'm opting out. No matter what, I'm going to get a raise regardless."

To name one change, Boozer indeed got his raise and now makes $12.66 million in the sixth and final year of his Jazz contract.

He also changed his mind and didn't opt out, after all.

And after making oh-so-many headlines and being the topic of oh-so-many sports shows for what he said, the power forward is now generating publicity for what he's doing.

That, of course, is a welcome change.

Boozer quickly clarified his statement — even later apologized for it — and isn't interested in revisiting the past.

But he is not shy to talk about something he hopes is in his future, which has him in a better all-around position during this pre-Christmas road trip than the last one.

You wouldn't know it judging the fan All-Star voting — Boozer didn't even register among the top 11 forwards out West to be a starter in the first revealed results last week — but his play and sparkling stats are among the strongest in the NBA in his contract year.

"The free-agent-to-be forward," wrote TNT/NBA.com reporter David Aldridge this week, "is having an All-Star season in his walk year."

Tell the Jazz about it.

Not the walking part — the All-Star play part, that is.

"We all know that Carlos is capable of this," Jazz shooting guard Kyle Korver said. "He's playing really, really well. And when he's playing well, it sucks in the defense, it opens up stuff for everybody else."

And stuff opening up is much better than mouths opening up.