Jazz forward Carlos Boozer is suffering from a strained and slightly torn oblique muscle, but hadn't ruled out playing in Wednesday's game against Phoenix as he arrived at EnergySolutions Arena.
"I was really worried last night because it was so sharp," Boozer said. "It's still really sharp. Hopefully we can do some stuff in there [the trainer's room] and dull it out a little bit, hopefully try to get me to play. If I can't, then I'll just have to wait until this weekend."
Boozer left Tuesday's victory at Golden State in the second quarter with a strained muscle under his right rib cage. He underwent and MRI exam Wednesday. The Jazz will be playing to determine their playoff seeding tonight against the Suns.
With a victory, the Jazz would claim either the No. 2 or No. 3 seed in the Western Conference and home-court advantage for at least the first round. A loss would leave the Jazz with the No. 5 seed and a series against Denver.
"I mean, the timing couldn't be worse, the importance of this game," Boozer said. "If I can't go, we've had guys step up before. I expect Paul [Millsap] to have 25 [points] and 25 [rebounds] tonight."
Boozer said he was injured not on the play shown in highlights on ESPN, but on his turnaround jumper to beat the shot clock with 2:08 left in the first quarter.
"It was a random play," Boozer said, adding, "That's when I felt it the first time. [Then] I got a rebound, I went up and grabbed it with my right hand and I felt it a little bit more and that's when I knew I was hurting."
