The Rake Magazine

Year: 2007

  • Wolves Season Wrap

    This will not be a comprehensive or otherwise definitive take on the current state of the Timberwolves. I’d like to think that anyone who read the 60 or so Three-Pointers I put out this year has a pretty good glimpse into what I think are the strengths and weaknesses of the team. And what should be done about it is out of my hands.

    Trades? I can dream stuff up all day: So what?

    Fire McHale? I assumed it would happen more than a year ago, and today’s announcement indicates that he’s still on board. Why wasn’t McHale fired was one of the first questions I asked owner Glen Taylor when we spoke *last October*. Since then, the franchise has canned its coach for a 20-20 record, seen his replacement go 12-30 and express a desire to bring him back, and *deliberately lost* basketball games for the better part of two weeks, if not longer. Maybe sometime after the May 22 draft lottery or after the summer draft pick I can begin to tolerate serious thought about this franchise again. But right now, quite frankly, there are better things to do in life and I suggest we all start doing them. If you want to add your comments to this thread, I may respond, but I must tell you that right now I am more interested in looking at the NBA playoffs, or starting to talk about the Twins and baseball, or even get into a little hockey if the Wild win again tonight.

    In other words, that is not a good day for sober analysis. On the other hand, it seems like the right time to get a few things off my chest.

    * Mark Blount should be ashamed of himself. His “effort” over the final three months of the season was provocatively half-assed, making Michael Olowokandi look like a poster boy of professionalism by comparison. At least two or three times a game, and sometimes up to half a dozen, a smaller player would drive the lane where Blount was situated and score the layup with impunity, without worrying about a hard foul, block, or any consequence to him or his team. These things get around the league–you don’t need scouts on the sideline to have the word spread that someone is chickenshit beneath the hoop–and had a lot to do with the Wolves collapse on the defensive end during the second half of the season.

    * Ricky Davis and Blount care far more about making snide, snarky comments and feeling put-upon in a dual pity party than they do about improving themselves or this basketball team. Davis is a talented player who doesn’t give a rat’s ass about the greater good of team, and he’s so pathological about it that I really don’t think he can change. Justin Reed occasionally joined this cancerous little clique, making the Boston trade an outright disaster even if Wally Szczerbiak never plays another minute. Davis needs to go. Blount is probably untradeable, but if I were the Wolves, I’d bring a very nasty banger into training camp next year and force-feed Blount to him. It would do wonders for team chemistry.

    * Today, about the only thing Kevin McHale could say in support of Randy Wittman was that he was a taskmaster who runs a tight locker room and would demand discipline and responsiveness from his team. McHale has spread a lot of bullshit in his time at the Target Center, but this may top the list. The idea of Wittman commanding respect from his troops is evidenced by….what? Who got called out most blatantly during Wittman’s 4 months on the job? Not Davis, who got more minutes under Witt than he did under Dwane Casey. Not Blount, who played far far more minutes than he deserved from the All-Star break on, when rookie Craig Smith and energy guy Mark Madsen were blatantly better options. McHale also said today that in the current NBA, a guy like Smith can play the 4, that the game is gravitating to smaller and quicker front lines. He also stated that this team will get bigger and bang more, but more likely at the forwards than at the center position because of a lack of options. Well then, why didn’t Wittman sit Blount down and start grooming Smith for that role? Yeah, he eventually did it, about three weeks after the most casual fan could see it had to be done. Bottom line, Wittman continued giving Blount and Davis heavy minutes, even as complained about selfish play and a lack of chemistry, and affirmed that he would make players pay for lack of effort. Then McHale comes along and says Wittman will be back because he is a taskmaster who will get the players’ attention. How stupid do these people think we are? Meanwhile, the two players Witt really slighted were Trenton Hassell, who got benched for a perceived lack of hustle longer than anyone on the team–nearly two straight games–and then only grudgingly was allowed back in the lineup; and Kevin Garnett, who heard his coach say there wasn’t enough locker room policing going on–a direct rip on KG, the de facto leader of the team. Maybe McHale and Wittman see a different game than I do, but Trenton Hassell and Kevin Garnett are not among my top 6 things wrong with this wretched franchise. In fact the VP of Personnel and the Coach rate much higher on my “could be upgraded” list than the team’s two best on-ball defenders.

    * Big Disappointment # 3, behind the listless, soft, quit-on-his team Blount and the narcissistic, unreliable, doesn’t-understand-what-it- takes-to-win Davis, is Mike James, who proved rather decisively that he can’t handle the pressure of being a key component of a quality team. Once the onus of meaningful games was lifted, James became similar to the player he was in Toronto–capable of scoring in bunches, and bringing energy to the offensive end (he defense remained awful). Last year it was Marko Jaric who demonstrated that he is not to be trusted when the game is on the line, but at least Jaric restricted his chokes to crunchtime. James cannot be trusted as long as his team means to contend and he is more than a bit role player in the proceedings.

    * There is not a single player on this team that had a really good year. Not one. Garnett is showing signs of slippage, especially on defense, where he can’t scramble and recover or casually outjump and snatch rebounds or deter penetration the way he did in his prime. Davis is the team’s most fraudulant stat-stuffer since Micheal Williams. Randy Foye was inconsistent to a fault, even for a rookie looking an important, unfamiliar position. (McHale said today that he envisions Foye playing “off the ball” more in the backcourt next year.) Hassell and Jaric provided offense the way November or March occasionally provide a warm sunny day. Mark Blount provided a first 45 games of hustle and quality shooting that made his last 35 or so games all that much more abominable by comparison. James is a flunky, a sidekick, pure and simple. And so on, down the list.

    There. End of rant. Time to start remembering why I enjoy basketball so much–I’ll do some thumbnail playoff series impressions and picks in the next post.

  • Bummer, But Sort Of A Good One

    I guess this is one of those occasions where you could label a victory a bit of a disappointment. The whole game after the first inning certainly qualified as anti-climactic, but given the match-up going in, the win qualifies as a gift.

    You could already tell that Felix Hernandez was off as he was throwing his last warm-up pitches, and it’s a shame we didn’t get to see even a glimmer of the guy who was so dominating in his first two starts.

    What the hell     do you suppose is up with Joe Nathan? Yesterday marked his third straight shaky outing –he escaped that first Tampa Bay game with a win thanks entirely to the Devil Rays’ baserunning blunders, then got beat around and blew the save in the series finale.

    I guess if you say anything with enough conviction it can almost sound like you’re making sense. This from Seattle manager Mike Hargrove after last night’s game: “A good third base coach is not doing his job unless he is getting guys thrown out at home plate.”

    Okey-dokey.

  • NBC Did the Right Thing

    NBC is taking heat for broadcasting Seung Cho’s photos and videos. As scoops go, the package Cho sent them is about as good as it gets. But the dilemma was obvious. Do you present the ravings of a homicidal madman to population of the planet, knowing full well that you are then the principal agent for creating new, permanent, perverse iconography? (Cho’s movie-poster pose with two guns in out-stretched arms has already joined the hooded figures of Abu Ghraib in the 21st century Hall of Infamy.)

    Despite my queasiness with NBC and MSNBC’s constant hyping of “exclusive”, and the titillating promise of “more tomorrow on ‘Today’”, (I didn’t watch), they did the right thing, at least in that we don’t know for the moment what else was in Cho’s package that they decided not to air.

    News organizations are constantly balancing their mission to present news “without fear or favor” with their role as a cultural citizen, which very much involves the desire not to be accused of reckless opportunism, exploitation and smut peddling, all of which could effect shareholder value. The far safer path is always a sin of omission, (e.g.) play “patriot” during the run up to war by not aggressively challenging the dubious assertions of a popular President.

    But there is something of value in Cho’s ravings, in that the public very much wants to know, “Why?” Clearly he’s deranged. But from what? Depression? Childhood abuse? Cultural influences? All of the above? Obviously anyone who goes to the trouble of producing something like this is begging for understanding. Pity, too. But at some basic level understanding.

    A case can be made that broadcasting selections of this package will have a beneficial “wisdom of crowds” effect, in that as Cho’s misanthropy plays and plays and filters through culture the greater “we” will acquire a better understanding of him and his “type” other than just as loner-lunatics. We now live in a “wiki” world, where millions of brains can fix on something like this and thrash it vigorously for quite a long time. There have been quantitative and qualitative changes to that even since Columbine. Its worth betting than the overall effect of all that attention and analysis can and will be positive.

    Is it possible other deranged, depressed loners will take a cue from Cho’s videos? Sure, but God knows they’ve got plenty of imagery and behavior to ape as it is, and not much of it will come with as much earnest debate over the need to better ID and respond to psychopathic tendencies.

    I doubt NBC will ever cop to the social engineering aspects of this. They’ll prefer to stick with “news value” and let the usual cultural psychologists and pundits take it from there. But — their hype withstanding — the balance of their judgment, thus far, was appropriate.

    That aside, my reactions to this episode, and fodder for debate, are these:

    1: How about background checks long enough and thorough enough to detect psychological red flags as acute as Cho’s, whether the purchase goes through a gun dealer or a gun show?

    2: What possible rationale is there for 15-round clips in a concealable weapon?

    3: If we’re so gutless we don’t dare ever challenge NRA gun orthodoxy with Japanese or British-style gun laws, how about a $5 per round tax on bullets? How many depressed paranoids have an extra $1000 for a killing spree?

    (The tax on bullets idea I think should be credited to Chris Rock.)

  • Bring on the Gout, the Quirky, and the Real

    FOOD
    Leave the Bikini Behind and Stuff Yourself Brazilian-style

    churrasco-steak-final.jpgEat light all day, so you can stuff yourself at the grand opening of Fogo de Chão, a traditional Brazilian churrasquería. Their fixed-priced menu offers fifteen cuts of meat, sliced tableside by a server dressed as a Brazilian gaucho. Yes, it’s a bit pricey, and yes, it’s a ridiculous amount of meat; but don’t you just have to try it?

    Fogo de Chão, 645 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis, 612-338-1344.

    MUSIC AND WORKSHOP
    The Real Electronic Music

    Bent2005_300.jpgIf you didn’t tear electronic equipment up as a child — just to see what was inside — maybe it’s time to start now. Tonight is the onset of the Minneapolis Bent Festival. Circuit benders from around the globe will perform concerts with their bent instruments, teach workshops for both children and adults, and flaunt their skills. Stop by tonight for art installations and concerts. And be sure to attend some of the workshops this weekend. Learn from some of the best circuit benders in the world.

    7:30 p.m. (through Saturday), Intermedia Arts, 2822 Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis, 612-871-4444; $10/day, $24/festival pass.

    THEATER AND PERFORMANCE
    Improbable Theatre

    AnimoCE.jpg“Britain’s Improbable Theatre abandons the relative safety of such lavish puppetry spectacles as Shockheaded Peter and The Hanging Man (performed here in 2000 and 2003, respectively) and instead harks back to its roots in scrappy, improvisational object theater. Animo, therefore, is not so much a play as it is a series of spontaneous performances. With no script — not even predetermined characters — Improbable will invent its show anew, every night; found objects collected from nooks and crannies around the Twin Cities will serve as puppets. Local performers are pitching in, too: The Animo cast includes Minneapolis master puppeteer Michael Sommers,
    Jeune Lune     co-founder
    Barbra Berlovitz    , Bedlam Theater’s Julian McFaul, burgeoning puppeteer Lindsay McCaw, and percussionist extraordinaire Aaron Barnell.”

    8 p.m. (through Saturday), McGuire Theater, Walker Art Center, 1750 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis, 612-375-7600; $12 ($10 members).

    Street Opera

    Street121.jpgLooking for a more traditional theater offering — something somewhat more dramatic? Go so see Kurt Weill’s Street Scene. When German composer Kurt Weill met American playwright Elmer Rice in the mid-1930s, he was compelled to transform Rice’s depression-era depiction of New York slum tenements into an opera. After much resistance, he finally did so in this impassioned tale of disillusionment.

    7:30 p.m. (through Saturday, 1:30 Sunday), Ted Mann Concert Hall, University of Minnesota, 2106 S 4th St., Minneapolis, 612-626-1892; $18 ($10 students).

    FILM
    International Film Festival

    gallery_04_thumb.jpg“Despite every possible setback, The Minneapolis/ St. Paul International Film Festival soldiers on, though with fewer films (which is, perhaps, a blessing).” Now in its 25th year, the International Film Festival features 80 films from 40 countries, 21 of which are US premieres. See the opening night screening of Bamako, from Mali, West Africa, and stay for the Opening Night Gala with producer Danny Glover. Enjoy free beer or wine with your ticket stub, appetizers, an African drum and dance performance, and beer and wine specials all night long at the Riverview Café and Wine Bar.

    7 p.m., Riverview Theater, 3800 42nd Ave South, Minneapolis, 612-729-7369 (Film Fest 612-331-3134); $15, $25 for movie and party.

    SHOPPING
    Thursday Shopping Pick: “Greed Gone Wild”

    “Greed Gone Wild” is the name of the weekend’s best top-secret junk sale. This semiannual event is, in essence, the emptying of some very impressive closets. A fashionable group of Twin Cities shop owners, antique dealers, gallerists, and stylists (including one of the Twin Cities top stylists, Gwen Leeds) gather their castoffs for this junk sale, selling housewares, clothing, shoes, jewelry, furniture, and even art. This is the very event at which Rake Assistant Editor Chritsy Desmith once found a vintage Diane von Furstenberg wrap-around dress priced at a mere thirty dollars.

    8 a.m. – 8 p.m., (Friday 10 a.m.-6 p.m., and Saturday 10 a.m.-4 p.m.), Patina Props, 2014 Central Ave NE, Minneapolis; 612-729-6006.

  • Rushed

    slow.JPG

    Today is one of those crazed days.

    I can’t seem to get to a meeting on time, let alone find anything to jam into my mouth to stave off embarassing stomach growls. It’s ridiculous.

    And now that school is almost out for the day, there will be the flurry of pick up and drop off and pick up and run to Target and forget to buy milk and drop off.

    But I am lucky. I know that. I am double lucky (double chin is double lucky) to live not far from a few RW restaurants.

    I’m more than excited tonight to feed the kids with a quick pasta, help with the homework, give a bath, and tuck. Then, as the older ones run court, the hub and I can sneak to Ravello for a lovely later RW dinner. I’m already thinking about the walnut crusted goat cheese and the grilled Arctic char with roasted tomato bearnaise. Oh, and white asparagus that I don’t have to cook? Yeah.

  • Two Pulitzer Ironies

    When this year’s Pulitzers were announced earlier this week I was gratified to see the Wall Street Journal win what many minds regard as the best of the best; the Pulitzer for public service reporting. The category implies a relevance much broader than, say, Pulitzers for editorial cartooning or even novel-writing.

    But two ironies jumped immediately to mind:

    One, from beginning to end the Journal produced 17 stories laying out the details of a scandal that eventually effected 150 companies, and all the way along the paper’s reporters and news editors were hectored and diminished by the paper’s notoriously retrograde opinion page. Here is a nice analysis of all that.

    The second irony was/is that the key scoundrel in the Pulitzer-winning story was Minnesota’s own United Health and its fair-haired CEO, Dr. Bill McGuire. Now, as the above linked-to essay explains, the Journal brought serious and seriously-talented resources to bear, once tantalized by a relatively obscure Professor’s wonky conjecture.

    So … I have to wonder, as I continue to watch what can only be described as willful avoidance on the part of the Star Tribune to — at the very least — add context and background on the US Attorneys scandal – Rachel Paulose “connection”, if we aren’t witnessing something very like the chumpy cheerleading that passed for reporting as UnitedHealth and McGuire amassed staggering fortunes amid runaway health care costs in a national crisis.

    In days of yore, investigative reporters’ noses would begin twitchy instinctively at numbers like UnitedHealth and McGuire were regularly posting. Those of course were the days when second-tier papers like the Strib encouraged their reporters to take time to stick their noses in where they weren’t appreciated, on the off-chance that following the money might lead to a story effecting the entire community.

  • America at a Crossroads

    Somewhere after the Red Lake shootings the numbness settled in for good. I hope everyone younger than me can still react with unalloyed shock at another campus massacre. But I’m sorry, and I truly am sorry, the cycle of these things has become too frequent for me to be shocked anymore. From the first reports, to the re-re-repeated tapes of cops with rifles running from squad cars, to cable news anchors adding little for hours on end but the requisite verbiage of — “horrific”, “senseless”, “tragedy” and “shocking” — to, a day later, the candlelight services, the anchors-on-location and the “search for an explanation”, everything is too familiar to be “shocking”.

    It has been a perverse relief to look away for two hours the last three nights and follow PBS’s, “America at a Crossroads” series. It is excellent. Varied and comprehensive.

    Sunday’s opener, “Jihad: The Men and Ideas Behind Al Qaeda”, a tightly -compacted chronology of the jihad movement among radicalized Muslims and the West’s inept response, was both vivid and profoundly troubling. “Troubling” because even at this date, almost six years after 9/11, the United States projects woefully little awareness of the bigger game afoot.

    Very little of the information was new to anyone doing regular reading on al Qaeda, 9/11, Afghanistan and Iraq. But the ever-deepening sobriety informed citizens are bringing to this kind of programming is in itself a new context for assessing information.

    Two episodes thus far, “Warriors” (Sunday) and “Gangs of Iraq” (last night), were remarkable for their long-form approach to military operations in and around Baghdad, and what they say about the standard coverage we get from the major networks.

    I ask you, other than the occasional feature documentary, like “Gunner Palace” or “War Tapes”, how often have you seen sequences more than 45 seconds long of the working environment of US troops in Iraq? Then, of those 45 seconds, usually the aftermath of the latest car-bombing, how rare is a single sequence that hasn’t been edited into some producer’s version of an action movie frenzy, with flames, screaming, wailing and a terse-looking GI standing over a pool of blood? In these two films in particular, very little is being edited, (i.e. “packaged”), for the network news’ attention span. In each film the camera is allowed to linger on the faces and landscape, giving viewers who may have accumulated an inquiring knowledge from other sources a chance to make observations and cross references of their own.

    Point being, be thankful again for public television. Although CNN and “Nightline” have produced long(er) form docs, the “America at a Crossroads” series, is actually far nervier for its willingness to let the futility of the current strategy re-indict itself over 11 hours of prime time, instead of the daily 90 seconds while most of the country is commuting home from the office.

    In THAT context, last evening’s hour-long segment, titled, “The Case for War: In Defense of Freedom”, narrated and hosted by leading neo-conservative, Richard Perle, is a testament to PBS’s commitment to a broader and deeper form of journalism than its commercial brethren are currently playing. (The film is actually a British production, by the lavishly-awarded production house, Brooke Lapping.)

    Frankly, I’m wondering if Perle is so deluded he believes he made any kind of a case for the invasion, based on the film he obviously had to sign off on? Or maybe he’s just honest?

    His conversation with Al Quds editor, Abdel Bari Atwan, for example, is not my idea of something you plug into a fraudulent dialectic. Atwan, and later, Clinton-era assistant Secretary of State, Richard Holbrooke, cleanly eviscerate Perle’s theory of bringing democracy to foreign cultures whether they want it or not. Assuming Perle isn’t an idiot, the effect of the film is to conclude that he — unlike, say, Paul Wolfowitz, Dick Cheney and George W. Bush — is at least willing and capable of open debate.

    My favorite moment though was Perle commenting on wild-eyed left-wing conspiracy theories, such as those where some small cabal of insiders takes control of government policy.

    I mean, “denial” and “delusion” are different maladies, right?

  • Last Night Was A Very Satisfying Appetizer

    If you’re a resolute glass-is-half-full sort of character I suppose you could find something to bitch about from last night’s game. I’m not sure what, but I’d be delighted to hear from you all the same.

    I’m always delighted to hear from crackpots.

    Another entertaining and efficient Ramon Ortiz performance (fifteen ground balls). How often do you see a game with twenty-five hits, four walks, and thirteen runs that clocks in at 2:27? Not very often.

    It was an entertaining game all around, really. Of the Twins’ fifteen hits, ten were for extra bases (including eight doubles, three from Joe Mauer). There was Hunter’s grand slam, of course, following an intentional walk to Justin Morneau. There was the satisfaction of seeing the Twins beat-up on the petulant (and grossly overpaid) Jeff Weaver. Minnesota also came up with some big two-out hits, played error-less defense, and turned three double plays.

    Tonight should be fun. I’m looking forward to seeing 21-year-old phenom Felix Hernandez. The kid has pitched seventeen scoreless innings so far this season (four hits, four walks, and eighteen strikeouts). Hernandez struck out twelve batters and out-dueled Oakland’s Dan Haren on opening day, and then pitched a one-hitter to spoil Daisuke Matsuzaka’s Fenway Park debut. The Twins should get some idea of what opposing teams felt like facing Francisco Liriano last year.

  • New Movies, New Music, Old Dance, and Old Prices

    FILM
    Eat, Drink, and Lounge for Cinema

    CinemaLou.jpgIFP’s monthly Cinema Lounge is a great way to find out about local filmmakers, meet them, and see their work. (It’s also a great showcase for those of you who do film.) Stop by the Bryant-Lake Bowl tonight for a frosty beverage, perhaps some sesame-crusted ahi tuna, and some original short films. Following each film, you’ll have an opportunity to hear from the filmmaker(s) and ask them questions about their work. Tonight’s Cinema Lounge features a music video for Felt (the side project of Murs and Slug from Atmosphere), a dystopic look at a not-too-distant future where “self-termination” is encouraged, and an over-the-top action spoof that will have your beer coming out your nose. Plus, meet filmmakers Rod Peyton, Dan Merritt, and Joe Dressel.

    7 p.m., Bryant-Lake Bowl, 810 West Lake St., Minneapolis, 612-825-8949;free.

    MUSIC
    A Stripped-Down Ryan Adams with a Country Twang

    Branan1.jpgAre you a Ryan Adams fan? How about Bright Eyes or John Prine? Go see Memphis singer/songwriter Cory Branan play tonight. If you can appreciate the occasional country twang, you’ll enjoy the show. It’s hard to believe he started out playing death metal, but perhaps that’s the source of his confidence. This guy really owns the stage. He puts on a great show, telling tales between numbers and tossing out the kinds of witticisms found in his songs.

    8 p.m. (doors at 7 p.m.), Fine Line Music Cafe, 318 First Avenue North, Minneapolis; $10 ($57-$59 for reserved table tickets).

    Listen to Cory Branan.

    DANCE
    Get Out Those Victorian Dancing Shoes

    victorian.jpgSometimes you just have to go out and do something you wouldn’t ordinarily do. If you’re looking to break the rut of movies and dinners and concerts, kick out those dancing shoes and head to the Ramsey House for a Victorian Dance Club. Start the evening with a first-floor house tour, proceed to the Carriage House for a dance lesson and parlor cotillion, and top it all off with punch and cookies made from Ramsey family recipes. Call ahead to make a reservation.

    6, 7:30, and 8 p.m., Alexander Ramsey House, 265 S. Exchange St., St. Paul, 651-296-8760; $10 ($9 seniors and youth 9-17, $2 discount for MHS members).

    FOOD
    1982 Prices

    loonca.gifThe Loon Cafe is celebrating its 25th birthday this week. That’s right, they’ve been around for a quarter of a century. If you remember them opening, then you’re doing well for your age; at least the memory is not going yet. Stop in and celebrate with the Loon, and enjoy the 1982-priced deals. If that’s not enough to entice you, you can hit their happy hour, from 4 to 6:30 p.m., for a variety of food and drinks priced at $2.50 each.

    11 a.m. – 2 a.m., The Loon Cafe, 500 1st Ave. N., 612-332-8342; 1982-priced.

    ON THE NET
    What in the Web Is Becoming of Us?

    Video time-wasters.

    Online John
    The Machine Is Using Us
    Supermarket 2.0 — very long!
    Bill Murray Technology Rant
    Jessica Simpson on the Internet
    The Danger of Internet Overexposure
    Webcam Danger
    Facebook Song
    Internet Killed the Video Star
    Internet Killed the Gay Cruising Bar

    And… because EVERYONE MUST SEE THIS…
    Americans are NOT stupid – WITH SUBTITLES

  • The Three-Pointer: A Little of Everything

    A Small Appreciation of Bracey Wright
    First off, thanks to those who gave me feedback on how to handle this disheartening point of the season, when the only intelligent thing for the Wolves to do is lose. Which is a bittersweet bit of good fortune, because about the only thing this squad is capable of doing is losing.

    But game analysis is a broken record, especially with the departure of Garnett for the season. There are only so many times I can bash Davis-Blount-James before it feels less like insight and more like a grudge. I’ve tried to go out of my way to praise this troika when they’ve done well, but since I think they are all still overvalued in the eye of the casual fan (but probably only the most masochistic of the ones who are my readers), and since I don’t want to simply echo conventional wisdom, I still wind up hammering them more than is necessary.

    Let’s get positive for just a second then, and talk about Bracey Wright. Word is the Wolves drafted Wright largely on the enthusiasm on then-assistant GM Rex Chapman, and I confess to being bewildered at the choice at the time, before remembering Kevin McHale’s history of throwaway second-round picks–since remedied by Craig Smith. And, belatedly, Bracey Wright. No one denied the kid could shoot, and certainly not after he finished 4th in scoring in the D-League at better than 21 ppg last year. It’s just that he’s relatively frail, not very quick, not very athletic, really; an undersized ‘tweener guard of the sort who’s upside is making close to six figures in a European league.

    The sad part of this tale is that I still don’t see him being anything more than someone at the end of an NBA bench. But all that said, if you paid attention on his quick cameoes, including last night’s loss to the Nuggets in Denver, you can’t help but be impressed with Wright’s poise. Once he finally joined the Wolves in Minnesota last season, he jacked up jumpers whenever he was open, then endured a brief experiment when the braintrust tried to turn him into a point guard–which could well have been camouflage for tanking.

    This season he’s played a grand total of 175 minutes and is shooting less than 40% from the field. Even his most impressive stat, a team-best +49 (KG is second at +10 and Rashad McCants’ +6 is the only other positive), has been accomplished almost exclusively in garbage time or the substitute-rich middle periods of the game. But what catches your eye is that Wright has been feverishly polishing the important “little” things about the game, like fostering ball movement (a totally lost art on this dysfunctional squad), making sound judgments on defensive rotations, not trying to extend himself beyond his skill set with foolish passes or showboating, and generally displaying a consistent effort with a generous attitude despite the circumstances. Last night he played a season-high 26:29 and canned 13 points (5-11 FG, 1-5 3P, 2-4 FT) with 5 rebounds, 2 assists and a pair of steals versus one turnover. Playing on the floor with the NBA’s ultimate jitterbug in AI, with absolutely no interior defense behind him, he once again didn’t embarrass himself. Most likely two or three years from now he’ll be a vague footnote in our collective memory banks, but last night and during a disastrous three-month stretch where the Wolves have compiled the second-worst record in the entire NBA (only the Milwaukee Bucks, at 11-33, undercut Minnesota’s 12-33 mark) Bracey Wright has instead been a minor but not unappreciated grace note. Good for him.

    2. The Great Brittons
    You know the blog ethos has gone to my head when I start naming award picks after myself (full name: Paul Britton Robson Jr.) in a desperate bid to break the monotony. Anyway, the virtual statuettes go to:

    Coach of the Year
    1. Jeff Van Gundy
    2. Sam Mitchell
    3. Jerry Sloan
    Van Gundy weathered injuries to Yao and McGrady and has his team primed to be the foe nobody wants to face in the playoffs. Mitchell likewise has contended with injuries, early-season rumors about his own firing, and a slew of rookies, to post more than 45 wins, albeit in an inferior conference. Sloan has mixed and matched his talent with an unconventional front line and produced perhaps his most creative season. Honorable mention to Don Nelson, Flip Saunders, Avery Johnson, and, as Steve Aschburner astutely pointed out on Sunday, Dwane Casey.

    6th Man
    1. Leandro Barbosa
    2. Manu Ginobili
    This really is a two-person contest. The Suns’ high-powered offense actually kicks up a notch in speed and productivity when Barbosa enters the game. Ginobili is an erstwhile stud-starter who has sacrificed a bit of ego for the good of his team. Former contenders Ben Gordon and Mike Miller are starters this year. Honorable mention, way back, goes to Jerry Stackhouse, Antonio McDyess, and Earl Watson.

    Rookie of the Year
    1. Brandon Roy
    2. Jorge Garbajosa
    3. LeMarcus Aldridge
    Roy is so far ahead of everyone else here that he should be a unanimous choice. Garbajosa is the already mature foreign export crucial to the Raptors’ early rise, who blew out his leg in brutal fashion. Aldridge is going to be really good and make Joel Pryz expendable in the process. For the record, I’d put Randy Foye and Craig Smith 4th and 6th, respectively, surrounding Rudy Gay.

    Defensive Player of the Year
    1. Shane Battier
    2. Tayshaun Prince
    3. Bruce Bowen
    My rules: Blocks and steals are overrated; rotational help coupled with stolid on-ball defense is paramount, with versatility also important. Battier and Van Gundy is a match made in hell for opposing swing men. Prince helped restore Flip Saunders’ defensive reputation by leading the Big Ben-less Pistons to top five finishes in fewest points and lowest FG% by opponents. Bowen needs (or at least gets) six or seven more minutes of rest than the other two, which about the only reason he’s third. Honorable mention: Ben Wallace, Marcus Camby, Tim Duncan.

    Most Improved
    1. Deron Williams
    2. Al Jefferson
    3. Kevin Martin
    Another no-brainer. In Year Two, Williams has become the MVP of a typically tough Sloan-coached team, leap-frogging Chris Paul and stamping himself as most likely successor to Nash as the NBA’s premiere point guard. Jefferson’s second half has been phenomenal beneath the radar due to the Celts’ miserable season–pairing him with Oden or Durant would put them in the second round, minimum, next season. Martin is an overachiever who has probably now reached his ceiling, but you’ve got to admire the doubled-scoring average, especially on a team with shoot-first cohorts like Bibby and Artest.

    MVP
    1. Steve Nash
    2. Dirk Nowitzki
    Another two-person race. For two straight seasons I really grimaced at Nash getting this award, firmly believing it belonged to Shaq and then LeBron, respectively. Now, in what has so clearly been Nash’s greatest season, one of the most stunning point guard displays in the history of the NBA, Nash will be denied the award because voters don’t regard him as luminous enough to be placed alongside Bird, Wilt, and Bill Russell as three-time winners. And he isn’t. But he is the MVP of 2006-07, hands down. Notwitzki would be a mediocre choice even without Nash in the running, but gets extra credit for sublimating his stats for the good of a 60+ win team. Honorable mention to Kobe Bryant, the anti-Nash in that his legend will always be larger than his collection of MVP trophies, LeBron James, who will demonstrate why this award is best voted on after the playoffs, and Tim Duncan, the ultimate glue guy.

    3. Rockets-Jazz Playoff Preview
    This is the playoff series I am most looking forward to watching. Here are a few reasons why.

    * Sloan vs. Van Gundy
    Two of the league’s best coaches. With his multiple screens, weakside cuts and various picks and rolls, Sloan puts meat-and-potatoes offense on the court as well as anyone in the game. The Jazz ranked second only to Phoenix in team FG% this season, despite finishing next-to-last from beyond the arc. What that means is a bevy of high percentage shots developed through physicality, guile, and unselfish ball movement, all hallmarks of Sloan teams. And this outfit is his most talented since the days of Stockton and Malone. Meanwhile, Van Gundy is one of the NBA’s better defensive tacticians, always landing his teams among the top handful is lowest opponent FG% and leading the league this year with a .429 mark. JVG, too, has his most talented team since he took the Knicks to the NBA finals.

    * Aces in the hole
    The Jazz don’t really have an answer for Yao Ming. Their starting center, Mehmet Okur, is an outside shooter–the team’s only real three-point threat–who is smart and has a nose for the basketball in the paint, but is hardly a defensive stopper and doesn’t even play as large as his 6-11 height, which is a good half-foot shorter than Yao. Their power forward, Carlos Boozer, has brawn but is perhaps generously listed at 6-9.
    Expect Sloan to double-down on Yao from a number of angles and try a variety of different players and looks on him. He certainly has some compelling pieces. Swingman Kirilenko is a defensive beast but will probably spend almost all of his time occupying Tracy McGrady. Backup center Jarron Collins is physical and disciplined, perhaps Utah’s best answer if the plan is not to front or double Yao too much. Shooting guard Derek Fisher is wily and experienced at doubling down and will be a Yao pest. Backup small forward Matt Harpring is nearly as large as Boozer and plays a tough, physical game.
    In any event, the plan most likely will be to deny Yao touches whenever possible, and collapse on him immediately when he does get the ball. Yao is prone to turnovers not only due to footwork but bringing the ball up to the 6-6 level of his chest. But once he catches and squares to the hoop, he’s a deadly midrange jumpshooter with a quick release.

    But the Jazz have their own ace in point guard Deron Williams, and it is to their advantage that point guard is where Houston is weakest, with Rafer Alston running the show. Alston shot 37.4% from the field and dished out only 5.4 assists per game. Both stats are a little unfair because more than half his shots were treys (and he made more than 36% of them) and his assist total is deflated because McGrady dominates the backcourt ball possession. But Alston is hardly John Paxton to T-Mac’s MJ; he’s the opposite of ice water, a streaky, emotional player who makes only 74% of his free throws. But Houston has no viable second option: Alston led the team in minutes played this season.

    More importantly, Alston is no match for Williams when the Rockets are on defense. Williams is not only an inch taller but 30 pounds heavier than Alston, and through the tutelage of Sloan and John Stockton (who always played bigger and heavier than he actually was) has learned to excel at shielding the ball with his body on drives and passes. Alston is 16th in the league in steals, but Sloan and Williams are generally too smart to present many opportunities for that.

    More likely, Van Gundy will figure out ways to bump Williams off stride, perhaps mixing in a matchup zone and trapping the corners. One advantage for Houston is that with the likes of Yao or Mutumbo underneath, they can gamble and press up on the perimeter. Another intriguing possibility is putting Shane Battier on Williams. (Battier could also find himself guarding Okur on the perimeter while Yao contends with Boozer. That Battier is a plausible option on both the center and point guard attests to his value.) It could backfire–Williams is obviously quicker–but it also might throw a huge monkey-wrench into the best thing the Jazz have going. Put simply, the Jazz don’t win unless Williams has a superb series.

    * Battle of the boards
    With a pair of leviathans in Yao and Mutumbo, a pair of capable forwards off the bench in Juwan Howard and energy guy Chuck Hayes (who may not play much), and a pair of large swingmen in Battier and McGrady, *and* a defensive that generates more missed shots than anyone in the league, Houston grabs a lot of rebounds–43.5 a game, good for second in the NBA, a tenth of a rebound behind the Bulls. But despite its relative lack of size, Utah parlays Sloan’s fundamentals into being titans on the boards, owning the largest rebounding differential by far–more than 5.3 per game–of any team in the league.

    *Kirilenko on McGrady
    It is amazing that only now are we getting around to McGrady. The guy had a fabulous year, averaging 24.6/5.3/6.5 in points/rebounds/assists. Who guards him? Not Derek Fisher–too short and probably too old. Not Gordan Giricek, who is rangy but usually a defensive liability. One interesting choice would be Ronnie Brewer but he’s a rook–expect foul trouble if he’s on T-Mac. The best bet is obviously Andrei Kirilenko. In fact he’s probably the ideal McGrady foil; the problem is, who guards Battier at the other forward spot? Between Yao and T-Mac, not to mention three-point specialist Luther Head off the bench and Battier and Alston also bombing from outside, Sloan is going to have to do a lot of rotating and switching on defense anyway. Whether Kirilenio–a marvelous, Swiss army knife kind of defender, like a more wiry Kevin Garnett–can be as much of a disrupter on D as T-Mac is an igniter on O will be another key to Utah’s chances.

    * Prediction
    I love the Jazz and have great respect for Sloan, but this isn’t a good matchup for this team. The six weeks or so Yao sat out with an injury only rested him a bit and made the Rockets more dangerous by gaining confidence from the wins generated in Yao’s absence. The Jazz have to figure out a way to fluster both Yao and McGrady–possible, but hardly probably. They can exploit Alston, but the streaky point guard will also be a positive factor at least once. On top of everything else, Houston has earned the home court advantage. The Rockets in five or six.