In fact, he has improved since last season. Come to think of it, he probably is slightly more talented today than he was yesterday.
"Every minute you're out there, you add to your skills," said Boozer, who by that reckoning, has 7,438 minute-sized slivers of improvement in his NBA career. "It's easier to read situations. You learn how to react to certain things, like if a referee is going to give you this or take away that. The more you're in the league, the better you get."
That's what the Jazz were counting on when they committed the team's future to a three-man core of Boozer, Andrei Kirilenko and Mehmet Okur two summers ago. Take above-average players who haven't reached their prime, provide them stability and opportunity (and a series of fat paychecks, of course), and watch them grow into winners, taking their teammates with them.
Now, it's two seasons later, and though the process has been jarred off its rails by recurring injury, the Jazz believe the setbacks haven't doomed the strategy. To the contrary, there is optimism that a great leap forward is just ahead for the Jazz's big three.
"I think it's too early to say they've reached their prime," said Kevin O'Connor, the team's roster-builder. "You look at these guys' [statistics] and you say they've done pretty well. But most athletes don't reach their peak as professionals until they're 27 or 28."
Which makes 2008-09 a big year in the Delta Center. Kirilenko, though in his sixth NBA season, is only 25. Boozer is 24, and Okur is the veteran at 27 - though he has played less basketball in his life than the other two.
"Last year was my best year," said Okur, "Now, I'm excited because I feel good and I know I can be even better."
That's not just a company line, either. At 18 points and 9.1 rebounds per game, Okur may be nearing his ceiling, according to one Western Conference scout who watched the Jazz win last week, "especially if he decides to stay outside and shoot jumpers."
But Boozer "still has a ways to go [before reaching his peak], because he hasn't developed a signature move down low, and I think eventually he will if he can stay healthy," the scout said. As for Kirilenko, "he's still so raw, he gets by on sheer athleticism a lot of the time. The only [person] stopping him a lot of the time is himself. Just imagine if he gets smarter as he matures, and learns to get the most out of his ability. He could be unstoppable."
Experience alone should become the Jazz's ally this season, because the core players have been together those two seasons. "It's like the triangle [offense]," Boozer said. "Some people say it takes three years to learn it, to master it. I feel like it takes time for us to grow together, and it's starting to happen."
So is he in his prime? "I don't think so. When I'm retired, I think I'll look back and see that I was better now than when I was a rookie. But I'll be better at the end of my career than I am now."
The Jazz's big three averaged better than 15 points, eight rebounds and two assists apiece last season, so the results are decent already. But they couldn't lift the team into the playoffs, largely because Boozer missed 49 games and Kirilenko 13.
Now they believe they are about to rise to the next level, one the Jazz haven't been a part of since 2003. "I think it's good season," Kirilenko says. "I feel in good shape. I feel I'm more team player than individual player. And team is ready for good season."
pmiller@sltrib.com
JAZZ CORE PLAYERS
Mehmet Okur
* Often the focal point of short-handed lineups, he had a career year last season with 18.0 points and 9.1 rebounds. To continue progressing, he must cut down on time spent on the perimeter.
Carlos Boozer
* A balky hamstring cost him 49 games last season, but he showed signs of great play when he got in the lineup. Developing a "signature move down low" would be helpful.
Andrei Kirilenko
* One of the team's top athletes is already a defensive force. Now, he wants to score more. An opposing scout says "if he gets smarter as he matures . . . he could be unstoppable."
