The holidays are supposed to be all about the kids, right? Not in the NBA, where Grinches and Scrooges abound. Over in D.C., the ol' bald guy has hijacked the Wizards' rebuilding plan to make a run at the playoffs. Down in Miami, Pat Riley is openly turning his young charges into lumps of cinder, if not coal. In Utah, the Jazz resurgence has coincided with DeShawn Stevenson being left out of games, reindeer or otherwise. And then there's that whole Grandpa's woodshed deal going on in Memphis.

It's hard to argue with the Jazz move. Stevenson, a third-year shooting guard, averaged 21 minutes in Utah's 3-7 start and played a total of 32 minutes in its subsequent 9-2 run. That's pretty damning since coach Jerry Sloan didn't make any other noticeable rotation changes and let's face it, any rebuilding in Utah can't begin until John Stockton and Karl Malone are gone, anyway.

	Pat Riley, right, can have a quick hook for rookie Caron Butler, left.

Riley's general disdain for his roster is a little harder to figure. When Rashard Lewis scored off the tipoff of last weekend's 100-71 loss to the Sonics, Riley immediately yanked rookie Caron Butler and ignored him for the rest of the period. Harsh, but if you want to drive home a point about focus, OK.

Trashing your entire squad is another matter. During the same game, Riley told referee Violet Palmer that he knows his team is "horrible" -- loud enough for his entire bench to hear, anyway -- while questioning a no-call. At other times he signaled plays staring disinterestedly at the floor, as if he had no faith his team actually could execute them and said they had "no collective heart" afterward.

Maybe I caught Riley on an off night, and, granted, the Heat fell behind 16-0 and never got within single digits in a 29-point loss. But Riley did everything he could to distance himself from the mess short of taking a seat in the stands. That wouldn't be so disturbing if he weren't its architect. Over the last few years a variety of free agents have said they weren't interested in Miami, thanks to paranoia that Riley's long, tough practices shorten careers or that his system is too suffocating. The perception is that if you're good, it's because of Riley and if you're bad, well, you must be bad because not even Riley could make you good.

In any case, punitive moves like the one he made with Butler are dice rolls at this stage of his career. Maybe it's just the whip-crack to inspire the Heat to get their "collective" acts together. Maybe it's a valuable lesson that keeps a young player from developing a bad habit. Chances are just as good that players around the league will see it as more abuse than South Beach as a backyard is worth.

I apparently caught Hubie Brown on an off night, too, for his non-stop barking couldn't prevent the Jazz from toying with the Grizzlies for a 104-71 romp. Despite all that, I get the sense the players have a soft spot for him. Brown's hearing isn't what it once was, so he wasn't even aware of referee Ronnie Garretson notifying him that the Jazz were subbing and therefore he could, too. There was something touching about Jason Williams interrupting Brown to relay Garretson's message.

Overall, the players came out of timeouts and huddles invigorated rather than discouraged and the team is clearly playing harder. A constant harangue inevitably prompts players to reach for the mute button, but it hasn't happened yet and there's more than a hint of encouragement in Brown's directives. Various NBA officials referring to Hubie as a great teacher and basketball genius seem rather disingenuous since none of them found reason to hire him for the last decade-plus. If nothing else, we all owe JWill and Co. a debt of gratitude. The fact that they're hearing from Hubie "what you must do in the painted area" means the rest of us don't have to on TNT.

Methods aside, at least Riley and Brown are giving their young players burn and touches, even at the cost of victories. As former Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy said, "Win now or develop. You can't do both."

The Wizards, of course, have opted for the former while paying lip service to the latter. After a slow start they've shelved two of their young front liners -- Kwame Brown and Etan Thomas -- in favor of veterans Christian Laettner and Charles Oakley.

	Wizards officials are privately saying that Kwame practiced as badly as he played before being dropped from the rotation. No one really knows because their practices are closed to the media. All I know is what I saw at the Big Man Camp last summer. The camp is a grind and even dedicated vets have been known to skip a session by week's end. Not Kwame.

This is a super-sized version of what Riles did with Butler. Reason? Michael Jordan has decided to make an all-out push to make the playoffs. That means, after averaging a prudent 25 minutes over the first half-dozen games he's playing himself close to 40 a night. It also means playing veterans who are happy and able to play complementary roles. Let's assume Jordan's hunch is correct that with Jerry Stackhouse to help carry the offensive load and Bryon Russell to take the toughest perimeter defensive assignments, he can avoid last season's breakdown. Let's allow that the Wizards can outduel Milwaukee, Atlanta and Toronto for the eighth playoff spot.

Is a playoff spot worth delaying the youth movement, particularly since big men take longer to develop anyway? Wizards officials are privately saying that Brown practiced as badly as he played before being dropped from the rotation. No one really knows because their practices are closed to the media. All I know is what I saw at the Big Man Camp last summer. The camp is a grind and even dedicated vets have been known to skip a session by week's end. Not Kwame. He participated in every drill and every conditioning exercise and it looked to be paying off when the Wizards ran a few plays for him to start the season. (I didn't track Thomas' attendance record, but he worked hard, too.)

Wizards officials also argue that Jermaine O'Neal benefitted quite well from sitting and watching his first few years. That, of course, ignores that O'Neal was banging against some of the league's best big men in practice and the Blazers, unlike the Wizards, had legitimate title aspirations. With all that Jordan has done for the NBA, if the Wizards are content to let him commandeer this season for his own interests, that's their prerogative.

It just brings whole new meaning to the idea of youth being served.

And Ones
John Stockton has told USA Basketball he's available if needed for the 2004 Olympics. He'd be a nice fit and the committee is sure to appreciate the offer, but don't expect him to be in the mix. USA Basketball is headed back to San Juan, P.R., for another Olympic qualifying tournament, but they won't make the 45-minute commute from a remote resort this time. Plans are to take over a hotel in the heart of San Juan, minutes from the arena.

Ric Bucher covers the NBA for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at ric.bucher@espnmag.com.