Quadriceps injury, maybe not the same as Francis but similar. I definitely see some Elton Brand type letdown for the team that gets Boozer if he leaves the Jazz next season.
Boozer is the next Elton Brand. Somebody will pay big bucks for him this offseason after major surgery then wonder why he's not the same player. It's all downhill from here. Buyers BEWARE!
I would rather defeat a healthy Jazz in the playoffs, cause you know someone (ESPN) is going to question any success the Rockets have.
I'm more inclined to believe that he is volunteering to do surgery right now because he wants to make sure he's healthy at the end of the year to demand his money. If he played through a minor injury, slightly worsened it, and then had surgery in May, it would cost him millions on the market. Evan
Boozer and Amare: Both guys no team should give the max to, especially Boozer. I guarantee you both guys are going to have major breakdowns in the next couple of years and will end up being salary cap millstones.
Back in the day, I don't remember so many players having injuries every year. Other than maybe the old Cavs teams with Nance, Price, and Daugherty. Besides those guys and Sampson - what other players were having surgery every season? Maybe it has something to do with all the increased emphasis on weight training and having to play with additional bulk...
Boozer is good, damn good--too good to be replaced by Milsap without a performance dropoff, even though the latter is definitely a player--but the chronic injuries are nasty enough that, if I were a GM of any team, I'd stay well away. Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. </sarcasm>
The 96-97 Spurs had all starters out at the same time. The odds of that happening are in the millions. The 06-07 Celtics had the same situation.
Don't insult Brand like that by putting him in the same sentence with Boozer. He's a real player, not just a system man like Boozer, and once he gets back to full strength he'll pull down his weight. It's just a question of whether or not his injuries are new or lingering from the past year.
Don't let your natural hatred of the Jazz blind your vision. Boozer is a very good player. His continual progression and breakout season in Cleveland made this pretty evident. There was no "system" that enabled him to dismantle Yao in 2006. That's all talent.
Yao guarding Boozer was a complete mismatch and was compounded if you believe (like me) Yao wasn't fully recovered from his injury. Brand was definitely a better player before being injured because he played both ends of the court. Boozer is a sorry defender. Just ask Jerry Sloan.
Look what happened last year when Boozer had to expend energy at both ends of the court. A whole different result with his jump-shot when expending energy defending Luis Scola instead of Juwan Howard. But I am not so sure he is just a system guy because pretty much every system has the pick and roll/pop.
