Boston » It was only fitting Tuesday that as the Jazz held practice in the basement gym at Emerson College, all the talk was about Paul Millsap, the third-year forward who soon will be enjoying penthouse life in the NBA.

A month after Carlos Boozer went down with a strained left quadriceps tendon, Millsap helped keep the Jazz in Monday's game against the Celtics, scoring a career-high 32 points and earning continued glowing reviews from coach Jerry Sloan.

"I look at Paul Millsap and he's working every time to try to go get the ball," Sloan said. "If it doesn't come to him, he goes after it. He's trying to play Kevin Garnett, he plays him about as hard as you can play him. He's not making any excuses about it. He just goes and plays."

Even Boozer acknowledged how well Millsap has played in his absence. Millsap has started the past 13 games and averaged 17.8 points and 11.1 rebounds while shooting 56.7 percent, with a streak of 12 consecutive double-doubles.

"He's been playing fantastic for us, giving us a very good presence in there," Boozer said, "and I can't wait to get back, so we can play together a little bit."

What happens to Millsap once Boozer returns is the Jazz's most intriguing question. Boozer went through the majority of practice Tuesday, but he is doubtful to play tonight against New Jersey, according to the team.

In the meantime, Millsap will continue starting, though he is prepared to come off the bench once Boozer is healthy. For his part, Sloan said he would consider playing Millsap at small forward to find him more minutes.

"It looks to me like he's going to demand more playing time if guys aren't doing their job," Sloan said. Millsap started only three games in his first two seasons.

After undergoing thumb surgery in May, Millsap worked with a shooting coach in the offseason. He has expanded his game to become more than just the hustle player who led college basketball in rebounding for three years at Louisiana Tech.

Although he closed the first half Monday with an impressive follow-up dunk, Millsap also drilled an impressive step-back, fadeaway 19-footer over Leon Powe in the fourth quarter. He hit five jumpers from 13 feet and beyond in the game.

Millsap's play has been even more impressive considering he is making the NBA's minimum wage ($797,581) for a third-year player. Every Jazz player -- even Kyrylo Fesenko -- gets a bigger check than Millsap, a former second-round draft pick.

"You can't help but think about it," Millsap said. "It's a big thing. But I just feel like my time will come. If I continue to work hard, my time will come."

The Jazz could have to decide this summer about re-signing both Millsap and Boozer. Millsap will be a restricted free agent, while Boozer can opt out of the final year of his contract (paying him $12.6 million) and become an unrestricted free agent.

Based on durability alone, Millsap has eclipsed Boozer. Millsap has played in 190 consecutive games since coming to the Jazz, while Boozer has played in only 70.9 percent of the team's games in his five seasons, missing 103 of 354 games with injuries.

Although the Jazz can match any offer for Millsap, it could cost them tens of millions. But Sloan offered his strongest statement to date Tuesday about Millsap being part of the long-term future in Utah.

"You don't get players like that very often," Sloan said. "Why is he sticking out like a sore thumb the way he's working? Those guys help you win, they give you a chance to win every day, if you get enough of them."

Boozer also endorsed re-signing Millsap -- "We have a huge asset in Paul and we have to do what we can to keep him here," he said -- but Millsap is trying not to look ahead to his next contract.

"You try to keep it in the back of your head and not think about it," he said. "Some people think about it and it can mess their whole game up. I try to keep that as far away from basketball. It's a long season, anything can happen."

rsiler@sltrib.com