THE END OF CIVILIZATION AS WE KNOW IT: Dennis Rodman has formed a team that includes former NBA players Vin Baker, Cliff Robinson, Kenny Anderson, Craig Hodges, Charles Smith and Doug Christie – average age 46.8 – to play against a senior national team of sworn enemy North Korea on Wednesday, dictator Kim Jong Un’s birthday. No word on whether Christie’s omnipresent wife, Jackie, is making the trip to Pyongyang — although Sheridan suggests she may be the CIA’s snuff agent.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers, on whether his star-studded team is “hunted” by opponents:
“There’s only one hunted team — Miami. That’s it. I mean, c’mon. If we think we’re the hunted, they have no idea what the hunted is. I’ve been on a hunted team before and that’s the year after you win a title. That team is hunted. All the other teams are delusional if they think they are.”
TANKAPALOOZA!: The Orlando Magic somehow figured out how to blow a seven-point lead with 14 seconds to play at Cleveland on Thursday. Jarrett Jack made three free throws after being fouled on a 3-pointer by Jameer Nelson. Orlando committed a five-second violation, and Dion Waiters drove for a layup. E’Twaun Moore missed two free throws, and Waiters drove for another layup to tie the game. Orlando lost in overtime.
LINE OF THE WEEK: Stephen Curry, Golden State at Miami, Jan. 2: 44 minutes, 13-22 FGs, 8-15 3-pointers, 2-3 FTs, two rebounds, 12 assists, four steals, four turnovers, 36 points in a 123-114 win. Yeah, we know Kevin Durant dropped 23 of his 48 in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s win at Minnesota. But Curry joined Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson as the only players ever to go for 35 and 12 on Miami.
LINE OF THE WEAK: Kevin Garnett, Brooklyn at San Antonio, Dec. 31: 17 minutes, 0-5 FGs, 2-2 FTs, three rebounds, one assist, zero steals, zero blocks, one foul, two points in a 113-92 loss. Garnett also was a minus-22 and 
did not make a basket for the first time since Jan. 27, 1996, when he was a 19-year-old rookie.
TRILLION WATCH: Apparently, Pelicans forward Darius Miller must have been upset that his 7 trillion was no longer the “best” of the season because he nearly posted a 13 trillion Friday at Boston and a 9 trillion Saturday at Indiana, ruining both with a foul. Thunder forward Perry Jones III, who overtook Miller with his 10 trillion vs. Charlotte on Dec. 27, must have taken notice as well because he nearly dropped another 10 trillion Saturday at Minnesota, wrecking it with a rebound. This week’s biggest heroes of zeros were Nets forward Tornike Shengelia, who had an 8 trillion Tuesday at San Antonio; Suns rookie guard Archie Goodwin, who had a 5 trillion Thursday vs. Memphis; and Grizzlies rookie guard Seth Curry, who had a 4 trillion Sunday at Detroit.
GAME OF THE WEEK: Toronto at Indiana, Jan. 7. On New Year’s Day, the Raptors manhandled the Pacers in a 95-82 home victory. Afterward, Pacers guard George Hill admitted, “They played better than us.” Toronto has won nine of its last 12 games while Indiana is a league-best 16-1 at home.
GAME OF THE WEAK: Orlando at Sacramento, Jan. 10. If you are a true glutton for punishment, order the entire three-course meal, with Detroit visiting Philadelphia and Utah hosting Cleveland.
TWO MINUTES: Kyle Korver was able to extend his 3-point streak to 103 games despite his worst shooting week of the season. The Hawks swingman made just 4-of-18 threes in three games, dropping his percentage below .500 for the first time this season (85-of-180). His true shooting percentage dropped to .664 as he surrendered the league lead to LeBron James (.667). Korver also missed his first five threes and went deep into the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s matinee at Boston before extending his streak with a four-point play. “I don’t know what the reason is, 
but I definitely have not shot the ball well for a couple weeks now,” Korver told CSN Chicago. This week, Atlanta visits Brooklyn (last in opponents’ 3-point shooting at .394), hosts Indiana (first, .324), hosts Houston (15th, .356) and visits Memphis (20th, .366). And by the way, Portland’s Nicolas Batum’s streak of 44 games ended with an 0-of-4 from the arc Saturday vs. Philadelphia. … Yes, Danny Granger is shooting just 36 percent with eight assists and 11 turnovers in 173 minutes since his return. The Pacers also are 7-1, slightly better than they were without him. … I’m about to go on a bit of a rant here, but when exactly was a knucklehead like J.R. Smith given input on personnel decisions? The Knicks did him a favor by keeping his brother, Chris, on the 15-man roster out of training camp, even though they had four other shooting guards and a need for an extra big man. They did him an even bigger favor by fully guaranteeing the salary of an obvious cut candidate. And when the team finally admitted its mistake and cut his brother to bring in badly needed big man Jeremy Tyler, Smith tweeted, “You know the sad thing about betrayal? It never comes from an enemy.” Instead of firing public barbs at his own team – you know, the one that gave him a three-year contract even though they knew his bum knee needed an operation – perhaps J.R. should worry about something else, like fixing his awful .348 shooting, 0.94 points per shot and 10.23 PER. Or taking colossally stupid shots like the 3-pointer he hoisted in a tie game at Houston on Friday that gave the Rockets an extra possession they turned into a win. “Honestly, I thought we were down two when I shot the ball,” Smith said. Thanks for sweating the important stuff, J.R. There. I’m done. Sorry. … When Philadelphia scored 44 points in the second quarter of Wednesday’s win at Denver, it was the team’s best quarter since also dropping 44 at Orlando on Feb. 20, 1996. That was four months before they drafted Allen Iverson. … Despite an offseason upgrade, the Blazers still have issues with their bench, which is last in the NBA in minutes (13.6) and 27th in points (23.9). But Portland could be getting a boost this week from combo guard lottery pick C.J. McCollum, who averaged 18.5 points and 3.5 assists in two games with Idaho of the D-League over the weekend. McCollum is expected to practice with the Blazers on Sunday and back up Wesley Matthews at shooting guard when Portland visits Sacramento on Tuesday. … Things are unraveling in Milwaukee. The Bucks fell to a league-worst 7-26 with Saturday’s loss at Phoenix, and Larry Sanders and Gary Neal were still having a heated argument when the media was allowed into the locker room afterward. After Sanders questioned Neal’s attitude, Neal barked back, “I earn my money. You 
should try it some time.” Sanders received a four-year, $44 million extension this summer – which doesn’t kick in until next season – but missed the first 25 games after tearing a thumb ligament in a bar fight. … Last week, the Heat came within one of Boston’s 1963 record for consecutive wins against the West before losing in overtime at Sacramento. Now Miami is one win shy of Boston’s 1961 record of 23 straight wins vs. division foes. The Heat can tie the record Jan. 15 at Washington and break it Jan. 18 at Charlotte. … Think the Rockets should have taken Philly’s Thaddeus Young and his two-plus remaining years for Omer Asik? In seven games since Dec. 19 – Houston GM Daryl Morey’s self-imposed deadline for dealing Asik – Young is averaging 26.4 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.0 steals while shooting 56 percent (72-of-129) from the field, including 14-of-32 from the arc. … The Pistons are 8-8 on the road with wins at Miami and Indiana but just 6-12 at home with losses to the Lakers, Charlotte and Washington. Maybe it’s because Detroit is 26th in total home attendance at 14,363 and dead last in capacity at 65.1 percent.
Trivia Answer: Larry Bird and Larry Drew. … Happy 50th Birthday, Dwyane “Pearl” Washington. … Will an NBA team blow a bigger second-half lead than the Kansas City Chiefs did on Saturday?
Chris Bernucca is the managing editor of SheridanHoops.com. His columns appear Monday during the season. You can follow him on Twitter.
You said “He should be thinking about poison pill deals for Evan Turner, Greg Monroe or Lance Stephenson” and that suggestion is total nonsense. (Check with Zack Lowe, Larry Coon, or any cap expert of your choice if you don’t believe me.) The Lakers could not offer a so-called poison pill deal to any of those players; such offers are allowable only to a very few players in the league, and none of those qualify.
pau is averaging 18, 9 and over 50% over his last ten games. asking to much i think not. Bynum is just a contract thats it they need more value
James, you miss his point. Getting rid of Pau’s stellar play is part of the reason he needs to be traded, so the Lakers can lose games and get a better pick.
In addition, given Pau’s huge salary, and the fact that he’s a free agent in the summer, as a rent-a-player he’s going to be hard to move to anyone given how many players another team will have to give up. Getting something of future value as well just for two months of him? Hard to see something better than Cleveland’s offer, which stands to net the Lakers a package of “appreciably better draft pick, and about $20 million in actual cash.”