Carlos Boozer: Pre-Season Expectations Exceeded
By Hannah Kulik
When Carlos Boozer joined the Lakers this season, the conventional wisdom was that his career was all but over. So anxious were the Bulls to part ways with Boozer that they placed him on amnesty waivers, which means they are still paying $13.55 million of his $16.8 million salary this season. In the preseason, there was debate about whether he or Julius Randle would start at power forward, an issue that was resolved when Randle suffered a season-ending injury in the first game. Then, unexpectedly, only a handful of games into the season, he lost the starting job anyway and never reclaimed it.
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Boozer could have pouted or demanded a trade. Instead, he kept his mouth closed and played hard whenever he came off the bench. The truth is, in an otherwise dismal season for the Lakers, he has played well. His shooting percentage is an excellent 52.7%, and he is equally adept at making mid-range, high-arching jump shots and scoring at the rim. He is averaging nearly 13 points a game in less than 25 minutes of playing time per night, which ranks third on the team behind Kobe Bryant and a struggling Nick Young (whose statistics are sinking faster than the Titanic). He is third in rebounds behind Jordan Hill and Ed Davis. While the only thing consistent about his teammates has been their uneven play on offense and defense, Boozer goes out every night, plays hard, and provides a much needed scoring punch on a team that struggles mightily to score.
There were on-again, off-again rumors over the years that the Lakers had interest in Boozer, but it never materialized until this past summer. Basketball fans all know his name, but few people know much about his background. He was born in West Germany and raised in Alaska. In high school, he was a two-time Parade All-American, which is especially impressive when you consider that Alaska is hardly a magnate for future NBA players or the mainstream sports media. He was good enough to earn a scholarship to play basketball at Duke and in 2001, his Blue Devil team won the NCAA basketball championship.
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Before playing for the Lakers, Boozer had stops in Cleveland, Utah, and Chicago. He was a strong contributor to each of those teams. He was never a superstar, but he was a solid player good enough in his prime to be an All-Star. Unfortunately, over time, his defensive skills eroded, and on a defensive-minded Chicago Bulls team, that meant he was expendable. There were snickers around the league when he joined the Lakers, but for the second season in a row, the Lakers were going with a mostly inexperienced and undistinguished group of players. If nothing else, someone with Boozer’s background could provide maturity and calm leadership. The front office also assumed that Boozer could help mentor their prized rookie, Randle.
Right now it appears unlikely the Lakers will win many more games this season. Last season, with only 27 wins, is beginning to look like a banner year. If not for Byron Scott’s connection to the Showtime era, his friendship with influential Laker legends Magic Johnson and James Worthy, and the fact that Laker owners cannot suffer the embarrassment of parting ways so quickly with yet another coach, his job would be hanging by a thread.
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This season is becoming so ugly that by the time it mercifully comes to an end, fans, and for that matter everyone associated with the team, may be suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome. Laker announcers and television hosts such as John Ireland, Mychal Thompson, Bill MacDonald, Stu Lantz, James Worthy, Chris McGhee, and Dave Miller – who are paid to find a silver lining — are mostly at a loss for words after seeing the Lakers lose in the same manner night after night. More importantly, you can see shock and resignation in the eyes of the players when they are interviewed. Even Young, always the life of the party, is despondent.
The one exception is Boozer. After every game, he patiently and politely answers questions from reporters. He is calm and articulate, always praising the efforts of his teammates even in defeat. Boozer is a true professional, and if anyone is holding the Lakers together in the clubhouse, my guess is it is him. With Bryant gone, and Ronnie Price no longer playing, Boozer is the only Laker player on the court over 30, the only veteran in a position to provide leadership. Scott, with his archaic approach to coaching and inexplicable starting line-ups, is more of the problem than the solution.
The bottom line is this: Boozer has made a big contribution to the Lakers this season and in ways that were not anticipated. He is still a good player on offense, he is a solid rebounder most nights, and while his defense is not great, he works hard at it. Boozer may or may not be back on the Lakers next season, but he has proven that he still has a lot left to contribute to an NBA team.
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