Dein erstes Forum » phan Feck, after the Maria

I want to go back. Back to the summer of 2016. Life seemed...simpler.Except in the NBA, where matters were decidedly tumultuous.Free agency, fueled by television loot, became a nouveau riche drunken spending spree. The high amount of player movement shifted power across both conferences. It also reshuffled the statistical deck in fantasy.Per example? Kevin Durant to the Warriors affected production across three teams: Golden State, Oklahoma City (Russell Westbrooks usage rate accelerates over 40) and Dallas (Harrison Barnes had to land somewhere.)Al Horford, Dwyane Wade, Jeff Teague, Jeremy Lin, George Hill, Chandler Parsons and Derrick Rose decamped. Nicolas Batum, Marc Gasol and Bradley Beal stayed put. (But a player staying can have just as much fantasy impact.) Then you had teams like the Wizards who whiffed after hoarding cap space and were forced to hand more minutes to in-house options (the rise of Otto Porter).Then we logged several coaching changes.New coaches installed fantasy-friendly new systems (Luke Walton in Los Angeles) and shifted players into new roles (Mike DAntoni shifting James Harden to point guard is -- easily -- one of the biggest fantasy position switches of the past 10 years.)Speaking of Harden? All of this offseason tumult manufactured another fantasy by-product. A metric ton of statistical weight shifted to the backcourt.Peruse the ESPN Player Rater. Six point guards occupy the top 10. Four fully fantasy-qualified shooting guards sit in the top 12.NBA backcourts: decidedly en fuego.Its going to be a tough slog for any duo to top the 34.89 combined player rater points Stephen Curry and Klay Thompsons threw down in 2015-16. But all of the new combinations of rotations and systems is producing surplus of elite backcourts.Lets take the tour through fantasys highest-octane backcourt pairings.1a. Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors (27.09 points)Durants arrival mandated that Curry-Thompson was getting dented. And Thompson did require an early season swoon (lets call it a transitional period), where he hit only 3-of-28 3-pointers. But Thompson has recovered with a vengeance, including December 5ths still-shocking 60-point outburst.Despite Durants presence, Thompsons 3-point attempts have only fallen off by .3 attempts a night (8.1 to 7.8). And while it may take awhile for Thompsons 3-point percentage to fully recover from that 3-of-28, I expect it to push back toward the .400 mark within the month.By the end of December, Golden State could employ four top-25 fantasy players.1b. Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum, Portland Trail Blazers (27.02 points)Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollums combined 27.02 player rater points puts them in a virtual tie with Curry-Thompson. Which means theyre on pace to become one of the great single-season one-two punches in fantasy history.Lillard-McCollum feasts on possession. Their combined usage rate is 57.8; almost equal to the rest of Portlands starting five.Lillard-McCollum is the most balanced of the pairings on this list. The other groupings mainly pair a lead alpha PG with a very good but supporting SG. But Lillard and McCollum are both top-12 players. They both supply elite production in key areas (points scored, 3-pointers). Lillards plus-assist production is balanced by McCollums plus-field goal percentage.An area that doesnt attract as much discussion? Free throw production. Both players hover right around 90 percent from the line. And theyre meeting their efficiency with volume. Lillard is averaging a career-high 8.0 attempts per game...a stunning average for a player that shoots so many 3s. By comparison, McCollum only averages 3.4 free throw attempts per game (although still a career high).3. James Harden and Eric Gordon, Houston Rockets (24.97 points)This should really be about the pairing of Mike DAntoni and James Harden. In previous stops, DAntoni made fantasy stars out of less heralded players like Boris Diaw and Jeremy Lin. Hes turned All-Stars like Steve Nash and Shawn Marion into fantasy superstars. But DAntoni is blasting Harden into the stratosphere.Despite the transition to point guard, Harden is still equaling or scraping his career highs in points per game, 3-pointers and free throws. Now hes supplementing those marks with 11.6 assists and 7.7 rebounds a game.Eye dropping stuff, but I really want to talk about Eric Gordon.Because to date, Gordon is doing something he hasnt done in a half-decade: hes staying on the court. Hes averaging a career high in 3-pointers (3.6 per game). Hes averaging more points (17.3) than he has at any other point since the injuries hit.And hes doing all of this season as a sixth man.Despite coming off the bench and only averaging 30.8 minutes per night, Gordon is playing his way into consideration for most improved player and sixth man of the year.Mike DAntoni: as a fantasy coach, hes the GOAT.4. Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, Toronto Raptors (22.43 points)Lowry and DeRozan are known as two of fantasys streakier producers. But so far this season, theyve succeeded at picking each other up when then other guard is in a slump.Kyle Lowry was a little slow out of the gate. His first couple weeks of the season sported Halloween-appropriate shooting lines such as 3-of-13, 5-of-16, 4-of-15, and 6-of-20. Which only set the stage for DeRozan to show off all the summertime work hed put into his midrange game.Each clunker from Lowry was supplemented by 30-point-plus clinic by DeRozan. DeRozan eclipsed 30 in eight of his first 10 games...and only hit five 3-pointers during that span. DeRozan continues to be one the most 3-point averse shooting guards in the NBA.And it doesnt matter. Because like Lillard, DeRozan is getting to the free throw line at a career clip (9.2 per game). DeRozans boffo free throw production is invaluable insurance for the periods where his jump shot isnt falling. Hes also supplementing the scoring with career highs in rebounds, steals and assists.While Lowrys production has recovered, DeRozans elevated across-the-board numbers is one of the less heralded fantasy stories of 2016-17. If DeRozan ever added a 3-point shot, hed be...Damian Lillard.5. Chris Paul and J.J. Redick, Los Angeles Clippers (21.06 points)Chris Paul continues to play at such a high level that it doesnt require more than replacement-level SG production to meld a top-5 combo.For fantasy purposes, Redick is elite in 3-pointers, and merely very good-to-average everywhere else. But his shooting efficiency, both from the 3-point line (43.8 percent) and free throw line (92.1 percent) combine to give Redick a secret fantasy weapon: true shooting percentage. His 62.9 percent clip is top 10 in the NBA.The rest of the top eight:6. Russell Westbrook and Victor Oladipo, Oklahoma City Thunder (19.59 points)7. Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade, Chicago Bulls (19.45 points)8. John Wall and Bradley Beal, Washington Wizards (16.68 points) Air Force Ones Wholesale Bulk . The All-Pro lineman got the leg bent under him while trying to make a tackle during the first half of a 22-20 overtime loss at Miami on Thursday night. The medical staff initially thought hed torn the ligament, and the test a day later in Cincinnati confirmed it. Air Force 1 Low Mens Sale . LOUIS -- St. http://www.airforce1salenz.com/ . LeBron James and Chris Bosh didnt need any more. Williams scored 11 points in 10 minutes, Alan Anderson scored 17 points, and the Brooklyn Nets finished the exhibition season with a 108-87 win over the Miami Heat on Friday night. SF Air Force 1 High Nz . Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek defeated Nenad Zimonjic and Ilija Bozoljac 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (4) on the indoor hard-court at Belgrade Arena. The victory improved the Czech pairs impressive cup doubles record to 14-1. Air Force 1 High Nz . -- Edmontons Val Sweeting is two wins away from a trip to Winnipeg to play in Canadas Road of the Rings in December. From naked coaches to Super Mario -- here are some of the strangest and most entertaining moments from the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio:Mongolian wrestling coaches strip in protestProbably the most bizarre story of the Olympics. With about seven seconds left in his match against Uzbekistans Ikhtiyor Navruzov, Mongolias Mandakhnaran Ganzorig began celebrating his impending victory wildly.The judges, though, didnt buy it. They instead penalised Ganzorig for his fleeing actions, which brought the scores level at 7-7. And, after Ganzorigs camp lost their appeal against the penalty, Navruzov was handed another point -- and victory -- cueing a protest that will live long in Olympic history.The mysterious green poolsThe whole venue smells like someone has fart.No, not a childish prank or last-minute competition nerves. The words of German athlete Stephan Feck, after the Maria Lenk Aquatics Centre was closed for maintenance when the diving pool had turned a mysterious green colour.Was it Shrek? Abnormal PH levels? No -- Rio organisers claimed it was down to an unplanned dump of 80 litres of hydrogen peroxide into the water.Tongas flag bearerJust. Too. Much. Oil. Dont stand tooo close to the Olympic torch.ddddddddddddPhelpsFaceThe gift of a meme that keeps on giving. Moments before the mens 200m butterfly semifinal. Michael Phelps appeared to aim a stinkface at his South African rival Chad le Clos, which of course sent the internet into meltdown.Someone even got a tattoo of it.?Although, Phelps explanation of just being in his own zone kind of spoiled the illusion...And the silver goes to ... Leonardo Di Caprio?We all love a lookalike -- and there have been plenty in Rio. However, none were more convincing than Team USAs archery silver-medallist Brady Ellison, whose resemblance to Oscar-winning actor Leonardo Di Caprio is just...well...scary.Super ShinzoBringing childhood memories back across the globe, Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appeared out of a giant green tube disguised as Super Mario during Rios closing ceremony on Sunday. No, really.As is tradition, Abe accepted the Olympic flag to commemorate the start of the journey towards Tokyo 2020 -- and we cant wait to see what Japan has in store for us all.? ' ' '