'Tis the season for columns that try to right all the wrongs of the past year. Relax -- I’m not going to get all Nostradamus and predict what lies ahead, nor will I do the post-Christmas Santa routine, offering a wish list for those who didn’t get what they deserve.

Instead, I’m offering 15 words (or so) of props for those in tough situations not of their making. (Thequalifier saves me from having to write about J.R. Rider or Charles Oakley.) This is for the Stout, the Stiff Upper Lips, those who don’t show up their bosses or on police blotters. They have cause to be squeaky wheels but have politely declined the grease. This is my one chance to slip them a little salve ... and I’m taking it.

Andre Miller -- A top-five point guard on a bottom-10 team. He's the lone Cav who can break anyone down off the dribble, which is why opponents are sagging off him, and he's too pass-first oriented to simply fire away. He'll scream if a teammate doesn't get a call but doesn't say a word if he feels slighted. Very quiet, limp handshake, but is the biggest triple-double threat among point guards after JKidd.

Sidney Lowe -- He hasn't had Big Country (back problems) all season, Michael Dickerson (broken pelvis, ouch) nearly all season and Lorenzen Wright (broken knee) for the past month. He's starting two rookies and living with the free-wheeling JWill. All that and the Grizz are one game ahead of last year's pace and competing. Who knows how long Sid'll last, but he's demonstrated a deft touch with his young and eclectic squad by not overwhelming them with instructions but telling them what they need to know before they need to know it. If he gets sent packing, he deserves another shot.

Matt Harpring -- It's one thing to do all the dirty work alongside AI when you're winning and guaranteed a playoff bonus and the world respects your team. It's another when you're below .500, didn't get a ring last season and have to deal with Larry Brown changing the entire playbook every three days. He's as fancy and subtle as a bone bruise, but it's how a 6'7", 230-pound ground-bound small forward averages 6.9 rebounds in 31 minutes a night.

Chris Whitney -- Deserves a lifetime achievement award for enduring seven seasons in D.C. He's starting by virtue rather than by default for the first time in his career and responding with a respectable 3:1 assist/TO ratio, scrappy D and a reliable three-point stroke.

P.J. Brown -- A steady rock on shaky ground. He's part of a franchise headed for parts unknown and an injury-battered team struggling to find some consistency, but he's averaging career highs in rebounds and free-throw percentage. Nothing particularly notable about his game except that he gives what he has every night, no matter what's going on around him.

AND ONES: A few updates on my rookie report of two weeks ago (information that wasn't available before my deadline) -- Eddie Griffin wasn't getting any burn early because he had trouble picking up the Rockets' offense. Look for him to get more minutes as the season progresses and maybe even make a late charge at rookie of the year ... Celtics forward Kedrick Brown is finally getting run, too, having discovered that using his awesome hops to rebound, rather than jacking errant 3s, is what Boston needs ... Got lots of email on not having mentioned the Bulls' Trenton Hassell. The truth? I saw the receding hairline and took him for a free agent, not a rook.

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