Bernucca: Grading the Trades That Have Already Been Made

THE END OF CIVILIZATION AS WE KNOW IT: Knicks guard J.R. Smith untied Mavericks forward Shawn Marion’s shoelaces Sunday in Dallas, was warned not to do it again by the NBA and in the very next game tried to do the same thing to Pistons forward Greg Monroe, drawing a $50,000 fine from the league. There’s two types of people who behave like this: addicts and children. Knicks coach Mike Woodson attempted to put the basketball world back on its axis by dealing Smith a well-deserved DNP-CD for Thursday’s nationally televised win over Miami. And Smith bounced back with a strong game against Philadelphia. Can he sustain it?

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Orlando Magic coach Jacque Vaughn, after his team’s slide reached six games with Friday’s loss at Sacramento:

“Let me check my watch here. I don’t think they are going to cancel that game tomorrow (in Denver), so you better get ready. That’s what this thing is about and this is what you do. If I am a doctor and I have surgery scheduled for tomorrow, I just can’t stop. I got to play and I got to be ready and be mindful of what my professionalism is about.”

TANKAPALOOZA!: In the offseason, the New Orleans Pelicans decided to make a run at the postseason, aquiring Jrue Holiday and Tyreke Evans in trades to add to Anthony Davis, Ryan Anderson and a healthy Eric Gordon. GM Dell Demps did this knowing his first-round pick in the loaded 2014 draft would go to Philadelphia if New Orleans didn’t have one of the top five selections. But Davis has been hurt, Holiday (leg) and Anderson (neck) both are currently out indefinitely and Evans may miss some time as well. The Pelicans are 18th in the overall standings, which means their pick would be in the low lottery and go to the Sixers. It seems like an ideal time to change course and start giving more minutes to trillion machine Darius Miller and draft bust Austin Rivers to ensure a bottom-five finish.

LINE OF THE WEEK: Gordon Hayward, Utah vs. Oklahoma City, Jan. 7: 37 minutes, 13-16 FGs, 2-3 3-pointers, 9-13 FTs, 11 rebounds, seven assists, one block, two steals, 37 points in a 112-101 win. Hayward scored the Jazz’s last 17 points en route to a career high as he upstaged Kevin Durant’s 48 points.

LINE OF THE WEAK: Thaddeus Young, Philadelphia at Cleveland, Jan. 7: 22 minutes, 0-7 FGs, 0-1 3-pointers, 0-0 FTs, four rebounds, two assists, one steal, one block, two turnovers, zero points in a 111-93 loss. Young had averaged 25.6 points in his previous eight games but was minus-25 and held scoreless in a regular season game for the first time since March 12, 2011.

TRILLION WATCH: While no one threatened the season-high 10 trillion of Thunder forward Perry Jones III, there were some solid disappearing acts this week. Magic guard Doron Lamb led the way with a 5 trillion Friday at Sacramento. Pistons forward Jonas Jerebko had a 4 trillion Wednesday at Toronto and Mavericks center Bernard James also had a 4 trillion Wednesday at San Antonio. Honorable mention to Bobcats guard Chris Douglas-Roberts, who had one shot, one assist and one turnover in 29 minutes Saturday at Chicago.

GAME OF THE WEEK: Portland at San Antonio, Jan. 17. The Spurs have had considerable trouble with the league’s better teams; they are just 4-7 this season against teams playing .600 ball or better. One of those losses came early in the season to the Blazers, who are 7-4 against the same teams.

GAME OF THE WEAK: LA Lakers at Boston, Jan. 17. How the mighty have fallen. The Lakers have lost four in a row and 10 of 11. The Celtics have lost eight in a row and 11 of 12. Ask yourself if there is a single player in this game you want to see play.

TWO MINUTES: More proof that Kyle Korver is shooting better than he has at any point in his career: Of his 10 career four-point plays, five have come this season. His record 3-point streak is up to 107 games – now 20 percent longer than the previous mark – with just one game this week, a contest vs. the Brooklyn Nets and their 29th-ranked defensive 3-point percentage on Thursday in London. Perhaps the British tabloids will make a bigger deal of the streak than the American media has. … Minnesota is 0-10 in games decided by four points or less. … The Mavericks are living a charmed life when it comes to last-second calls. On Dec. 31, the NBA said Shawn Marion should have been called for a foul on Minnesota’s Kevin Love, who was shooting a last-second 3-pointer in a game Dallas won by two. On Sunday, the NBA said Monta Ellis should have been called for a foul on New Orleans’ Austin Rivers, who was shooting a last-second 3-pointer in a game Dallas won by three. The Mavs have a two-game lead over Denver for the West’s final playoff spot. … Pelicans swingman Tyreke Evans has been held on the donut three times this season. He had never been held scoreless in 257 games prior to this season. … Phoenix is 1-5 vs. Memphis and Sacramento and 20-10 vs. everyone else. … One of the byproducts of the Rudy Gay trade has been the Raptors elevating second-year wing Terrence Ross to starter. In 17 games since the trade, Ross is averaging 13.0 points and shooting 45 percent (46-of-102) from 3-point range, a big reason why Toronto is 12-5 in that stretch. … Two players have made 10 3-pointers in a game this season – Brooklyn’s Joe Johnson and Cleveland’s C.J. Miles. Both did it against Philadelphia. … Dwyane Wade’s 11-of-15 from the field and 0-of-6 from the line Thursday at New York is virtually inexplicable. “I only missed six,” the Miami star said. “I didn’t miss 20. It wasn’t that damn bad.” Yeah, Dwyane, it was.

Trivia Answer: Monta Ellis. … Happy 81st Birthday, Tom Gola. … There are at least 101,372 idiots on the planet. We know this because that’s how many All-Star votes Omer Asik has.

Chris Bernucca is the managing editor of SheridanHoops.com. His columns appear Monday during the season. You can follow him on Twitter.