Jazz players have summer reunion on Chinese court

Me too.

I have repeatedly seen these "backhanded compliments" from Boozer and am sick of them. Seems he can't give a compliment to a teammate without a jab accompanying it. It's like he's afraid to lift someone else up because it might shatter his image. He should take a page from DWill's book and learn how to actually give a REAL complement.

That still doesn't change the fact thats he only worth about 2.5 million dollars per year.

I like how AK showed his emotions. You can hardly call him a pouter, when you have D. Wade and Lebron who think they have never committed a foul in their life. He played hard and looked good despite shooting a poor percentage.

How many people actually watched this game? I was AT the game. AK several times spiked the ball out of frustration and was constantly complaining to the refs. It reminded me why I don't like his style of play...

I like pizza

I assume all of you have been watching the Jazz behind Sloan. AK got his big contract because before Boozer and Williams, when the Jazz were rebuilding, AK kept the audience and kept the Jazz from collapsing completely. During that time when AK played so well and got his contract, the Jazz were so fun to watch. Everyone played, not just the guard to power forward that had become so perdictable and somewhat boring with all due respect to Karl and Stockton. The success of Sloan as a coach of that building team without AK would not have been worth mentioning, in my opinion.

AK is still the most versitile player on the team and when he isn't be marginalized by the coach and neglected by his teammates in the game, he can still create more excitement in the game than anyone except perhaps DWill when he decides to take over a game and disregard Sloan's unidimensional offense of "Stocton to Malone", ooops, I mean DWill to Boozer. Boozer will never be as fun to watch as Karl Malone. DWill is already as exciting to watch as Stockton, no desrepect to Stockton, it is just DWill's style.

Let him shoot 20-30 shots. And then will see what's gonna happen . btw AK's 3point shooting is one of best in Jazz, I mean %. AK played at 4. Did not injured as you said. So you don't know anything about AK and Jazz. Better follow your Fakers I guess it's closer to you.

...can say all he wants. However, until he proves he can play like an All-Star AN ENTIRE SEASON and not just for a few months I will be blaming him mostly for the Jazz's early exit from the playoffs.

AK aside, it was good to see Dwill out there dishing it and taking it to the hole.

Jason Kidd should not be starting and I expect to see Dwill replacing him once the regular oly games begin . . .

Obviously you don't know anything about team offenses and different styles of play. In russia he is their number 1 option. sloans system has always centered around a point guard and power forward. and with the addition of boozer and d-will he has become insufficent. BUT it's not their faults for holding him back. If that was an excuse then I guess Shane Battier would be out of a job right now. But even if he was in memphis playing they wouldn't be a winning team. So before you bash me you may want to learn something about team commitment and a thing called the Salary Cap which AK is consuming all of. And here you are making excuses trying to justify why he's worth that amount of money. But to a BYU fan who thinks that just getting to the NCAA tourney is success I think I'm waisting my time with this.

Do you know anything about basketball? Do you actually watch the games? Ak is constantly hustling and making plays offensively and defensively. Is that what you call selfish? Get a clue about basketball. He's had to adjust to a new role. That role doesn't always produce many points, but look at his overall stat line. It's one of the best in the league. I'm guessing in your little uneducated basketball world that equals selfishness. AK and Millsap are the ONLY defense the Jazz have inside. Understand how the game works before opening your pie hole.

I wish the Deseret News would put the feet to the
fire with these guys and ask them point blank:
"How do you explain Carlos, that many people question
your defensive prowess?"

"Andrei, how do you explain your erratic play? Are
you happy being the fourth or fifth option on the
team?

I agree with the defenders of AK but have a little more respect for Boozer.

AK is one of the most versatile players in the NBA, maybe the world, he could start at 3 different positions, but in the NBA I think his natural position is the small forward.

Before Boozer started playing for the Jazz (2 years after he joined the team) AK was for the Jazz what he is now for Russia. Once Boozer came on board and his role started to diminish AK had a hard time adjusting, I mean their aren't many players who could go from the face of a franchise to a third or fourth option role player, in the prime of their career, and not have some growing pains. That's a tough thing to do, but I think AK is in a good place now and I think we will see more from him like we saw in the playoffs this year.

Boozer is a great player and the Jazz should keep him if they can, but if they do lose him, if they could pick up a tough PF/C like Okafor, Gooden, Haslem, etc. I think they could actually be better.

How blind we are by mere totals.
Yes, AK scored 18 points. Care to guess what his percentage was? 6-14 on FG's and 6-12 from the line. A great game? Not by a long shot.

By all means make AK the focal point of the Jazz offense. Let him take 30 shots per game and see how far that FG% will get the team. I'd wager we'd be closer to the team that he "led" to a lottery pick than to a championship.

But I'm not about to defend Boozer, either. He is to defense what AK is to 3-pt shooting: embarassing.

AK IS a complementary player on offense IF you want to field a contender. I watched the Russia/US game. AK drove around Carmelo for most of his points. Last time I checked, Anthony plays SF for the Nuggets, not PF. U.S. team actually does not have much in the way of NBA-style PF's, opting for better shooters for the int'l game.

In the NBA, putting AK at PF would equal a quick trip to the hospital. He already misses several games each year with various injuries. Playing against physical PF's would mean foul trouble or injuries.

It's not Boozer, It's not D-Will It's not Sloan, It's AK 100%. The guy is a very selfish basketball player and I don't think we will get maximum production out of him unless he is the first option. If that happens we will be a lotto team for sure.

Carlos needs to take a serious look in any nearby mirror before spouting off about ANYONE on the Jazz roster. Giving back handed compliments like this is bush league and I have absolutely never seen AK dog it. I would ask Carlos--how would you feel, if after you have your first good game of next season, AK were interviewed and said, "He was fantastic. If we were to get this kind of effort out of him in the playoffs every time out, we might go somewhere."

Boozer is the one who needs to play with more effort. Yesterday's game should have been a huge eye-opener for anyone questioning Andrei's ability to play 4 in the NBA. He looked great. He scored from inside and out, played great defense, passed the ball well, it was an outstanding performance against the NBA's best.

If Boozer played with any kind of effort on the defensive end of the court we'd be a championship team. I can understand why Andrei is not happy in Utah...he probably can't stand watching Boozer play at 1/4 the energy level guys like AK and Millsap play at.

If Boozer would start to box out, play defense, hustle to loose balls, etc. we'd be a championship team. Until he starts doing all those little things, I think AK deserves a shot. He is a legitimate All-Star when playing the 4. Boozer can score points and that's about it.

Hey Gary, get off the Boozer band wagon! If it wasn't for his horrible play and lack of "DEFENSE", we probably would have had a chance to make it to the conference finals!! Boozer is good, but everybody including him questions his ability to play "defense" and also play big for the team when it counts! AK played great, not to mention he had to guard the likes of Kobe Bryant & T-Mac! Tell me this, why can Millsap come into a game 6 situation & help make such a huge comeback? Defense & Hustle, something Boozer needs to learn

i like basket ball but this is ridiculous, these guys are paid a kings ransom to play a game...i pay my taxes and these guys travel the world...now because of gas ...and the predicting heating costs..i have to give up my jazz tickets. but go jazz anyways!

Very mature, if your the leader and you back it up by putting the time in yourself! He should have said it with in the confines of the team but it still should have been said.

Dwill has to share some of the blame for AK's "underperformance." A little over a year ago, Williams admitted that he shut AK out of the offense because he did not think AK worked hard enough in practice. How mature is that?

Jason Kidd should not be starting. Paul and Deron are the best point guards in the league. Coach K seems to be using them well, though.
BTW-- Booz said we hope we won't be coming back here. He should be articulate. Duke doesn't recruit Prop 1 players.

Kirilenko gets a bad rap from Utah's fans. He's consistently defended the interior better than anyone else in a Jazz uniform. Along with Millsap, he's the only other Jazz player who intimidates opponents from coming down the lane. When Andrei is active defensively, the Jazz usually win...and they've won a lot in the last couple of years.

I am so tired of hearing... We'll AK just doesn't accept his role in Utah or whatever other junk you are talking about. Remember, Kirilenko is a PF, not an SF. And he plays out of his position. It is like telling Deron he sucks because he can play the SF well when he is a PG/SG.

NO doubt AK plays the game consistently well in international play--even against the world's best! He was ALL over the court in Russia's game vs USA; had 18 points (by finding or making his own plays without a great guard-line to help in assists) and 8 rebounds. Was also the go-to player in and MVP of the '07 Euro-championship games.

The missing part of the equation for motivating AK's Jazz-play lays on Sloan's shoulders--to find or develop a way to motivate this bright star's 'star'-potential and to increase his level, intensity and consistency of play. This kid CAN play the game well and actually got physical, in his international play over the past year.

To anyone who thinks he should be traded, the light shoulda finally clicked "on"! Consider instead that with just a little more of a persuasive or encouraging court-side manner, a little better coaxing (by Sloan), is ALL that's needed to instill the same passion and drive to lay it on the line, EVERY time--i.e. like Stockton and Malone! Constant 'negatives', i.e. berating, benching, overbearance of criticism, in-communicado (absent encouragement, patient mentorship etc.), isn't working for him, and doesn't for most people with any sense or sensitivity.

A.K. can't play like that here - grumpy old Sloan won't let him.

are you kidding me Gary??? Boozer's commments were a complete shot at AK. AK is going to take that as he doesn't work hard enough in a jazz uniform! Its funny, cause boozer is the one all the reporters are interviewing but he is the one playing the least minutes on the team. Its like he is begging for attention! Booz is the one that needs to sit back and reflect with all that time on the bench...he needs to watch how hard everyone else plays compared to him. Maybe he just doesn't want to "tweak his hammy" again....

IF we can get more out of Boozer, we might be cutting the nets down...

I watched the entire game. I haven't seen AK being that agressive for a long time. He's the go to guy of team Russia, while only being the 4th or 5th guy in Utah.

He did manage to score the most for Russia, but his shooting, one on one still have a lot of room to improve. So I hope he accept his role in Utah and play with the same effort.

Go AK go Jazz

Hey Gary S.,

I agree with you. But I heard Boozer stumble over his words once. Remember what he said after the Jazz went um 2-0 against the Rockets last playoffs? Something like "We won't be coming back here". Provoking the Rockets like that and playing once as if home games were guaranteed killed the Jazz against the Lakers, who knew that giving the Nuggets any sign of live could hurt them later.

Anyways, hope to see AK rocking this next season! o/

"AK was so aggressive and very confident he played great. Let me tell you, if we can get that out of him in Utah, whew, we might be cutting the nets down."

1. Maybe Carlos Boozer is right. If Kirilenko can get consistent next season, the Jazz have a decent shot.

2. Boozer is such a great ambassador for the Jazz. Just read and hear everything he tells the press. He never stumbles over his words, always has something interesting, positive, and articulate to say, and always compliments and encourages his teammates. His words exude teamwork, people skills, and I daresay charity. What a good example for the rest of the NBA!