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Anyone who claims that the NBA preseason is meaningless clearly doesnt have much of a history with fantasy basketball. Those of us who play know better. Much better.As you know, a lot can change, and fast, when you consider the enormous impact of one big preseason injury.?That can alter the fantasy hoops landscape -- its no wonder the Top 200 rankings have to be adjusted so often!This October, we saw several instances of this.We saw it with Anthony Davis sprained ankle; the power forward has been dropped from?No. 9 to 11 as a result.?Given the renewed concern of another injury-plagued season, he is a first-round talent who is dropping into the second round in many fantasy leagues.Gordon Hayward, Reggie Jackson and Ben Simmons are the three others who drop considerably due to injury. Haywards broken finger is expected to keep him out of Utahs lineup until the end of November, causing him to fall to No. 46. Jacksons left knee tendinitis is likely to keep him out for five to seven?weeks, causing him to drop from No. 50 all the way to 82 while also elevating Detroits fill-in starting point guard Ish Smith from No. 175 to 123.And then theres Simmons, whose broken foot will likely keep him out of action until sometime in early 2017, thus ending his rookie of the year chances and dropping him all the way to No. 138. Simmons still makes sense at a higher part of the draft in dynasty leagues, but hes missing too much of the season to be chosen above that 130-140 range in redraft leagues.Here are the other big storylines since our last rankings update:Harden leapfrogs Westbrook for No. 1James Harden and Russell Westbrook are in a class by themselves as the top two fantasy options this season, but until now, weve always had Westbrook ahead of Harden. Not anymore. I explained recently the reasons why Harden now makes sense over Westbrook in category leagues that include 3-pointers, but it can be summed up with this:1. Harden is now eligible at two positions -- shooting guard and point guard -- while Westbrook is still only a point guard. The versatility that multi-position eligibility creates on draft day is a huge advantage for anyone who selects Harden over Westbrook.2. Westbrooks biggest edge over Harden last season was assists (2.9 more per game), but theres a good chance that gap closes now since Harden has more point guard responsibilities and Westbrook is without super-efficient future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant on the receiving end of his passes.3. Harden is a much greater presence from beyond the 3-point arc, and that advantage may grow in the fast-paced offense of new Rockets coach Mike DAntoni.Paul falls, Freak peaksChris Paul drops from No. 6 to 8, falling behind Kawhi Leonard and LeBron James. Weve listed the Los Angeles Clippers star point guard at No. 6 throughout the past two months, but he has continually been passed over for the likes of Leonard and James -- and often times Davis and DeMarcus Cousins -- so it was evident a slight adjustment was in order.Meanwhile, Giannis Antetokounmpo rises to his highest spot ever in the ESPN rankings, jumping past Davis to No. 10. While the Greek Freaks ceiling may be slightly lower than Davis if both log close to 82 games, theres no denying that Antetokounmpo is a more durable option who is the safer of the two options. Remember, Davis has yet to play more than 68 games in a season as he enters his fifth year in the NBA.Embiids riseOnly a couple of weeks ago, the general consensus was that Joel Embiid would need some time to ease his way into the rigors of the NBA following back-to-back missed seasons due to foot injuries. While that still may prove to be true, Embiid has wasted no time making his presence felt in the preseason, showing rare skills for a big man who is actually bigger than Detroits Andre Drummond. Embiid has moves down low, and his stroke looks great from beyond the 3-point arc. When you factor in his size (7 feet, 250 pounds) and athleticism, its easy to see why the 76ers thought enough of the relatively unproven talent to select him No. 3 overall in 2014. He moves up 31 spots from No. 130 to 99 on the updated rankings, and if Embiid can stay healthy, he has a chance to be one of the best bargains of the draft for anyone who takes him in this range.Other big movers:Kris Dunn, Minnesota Timberwolves (132 to 105)Eric Gordon, Houston Rockets (123 to 97)Jusuf Nurkic, Denver Nuggets (147 to 87)Dario Saric, Philadelphia 76ers (131 to 118)Ish Smith, Detroit Pistons (175 to 123)Return of ExumAfter missing all of the 2015-16 season, Utahs Dante Exum is fully recovered from ACL surgery on his left knee and highlights the list of newcomers to the Top 200. Any concerns of lingering effects from the lost season have been squashed during the preseason; Exum has looked like a totally different player than the wide-eyed rookie of two seasons ago. His scoring and passing have been on display throughout the preseason, propelling him to No. 157 in the rankings. In 2016-17, he looks to be one of the main guards in the Jazz rotation, along with George Hill, Alec Burks and Rodney Hood. Remember, were talking about a player who is still only 21 and two years removed from being the No. 5 overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft.Other new additions:Wilson Chandler, Denver Nuggets (146)Trevor Booker, Brooklyn Nets (153)Nemanja Bjelica, Minnesota Timberwolves (161)Solomon Hill, New Orleans Pelicans (167)Dwight Powell, Dallas Mavericks (168)Marquese Chriss, Phoenix Suns (172)Kelly Oubre, Washington Wizards (180)T.J. Warren, Phoenix Suns (194)Kobe Bryant Shoes Outlet . -- Arizona raced out to a big lead and did not back off, hitting the accelerator instead. Wholesale Kobe Bryant Shoes . Its 1987 and a Brazilian playmaker, known as Mirandinha, is being paraded around St James Park to the passionate Newcastle fans. https://www.cheapkobebryantshoes.com/ .com) - The Pittsburgh Penguins placed forward James Neal on injured reserve Tuesday. 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Wragge hit 9-of-14 from behind the arc, matching Kyle Korvers school record for 3-pointers in a game set in 2003, as Creighton (16-3, 6-1 Big East broke a conference record with 21 treys in the rout.Joe Schmidt has challenged Ireland to withstand a furious backlash from a fully-loaded All Blacks side seeking revenge in Dublin on Saturday.Head coach Schmidt has admitted Ireland caught New Zealand at an opportune time for their maiden victory over the All Blacks, the 40-29 win in Chicago on November 5.Steve Hansens back-to-back world champions were hamstrung by a host of second-row injury problems that day, but will have peerless lock Brodie Retallick back in his unique auxiliary playmaker role at the Aviva Stadium.Ireland boss Schmidt accepts that most neutrals expect New Zealand to exact a brutal revenge for that Soldier Field defeat when the teams meet again, but will still target another landmark performance from his side.I think theyll come full-strength, fully loaded; maybe we surprised them a little bit in Chicago, said Schmidt. I read that they didnt really look back too much at the defeat to us before playing Italy this weekend.Well they have that game done and now they will look at us over the next few days, and theyll have a really good plan. They are extremely well coached and incredibly well prepared physically, and I think the rate they play at if they have the ball, youre under pressure if theyve got it.And I think theyll have more access to it if theyve got their second row back.Ireland made history with their first win over New Zealand in 111 years of trying in the United States. Head coach Schmidt then made a full 15 changes to take on the worlds 18th-ranked side Canada. Ireland prevailed 52-21 in a comfortable but sloppy win that will ultimately hardly colour the All Blacks rematch. Schmidt will recall all his big guns to host New Zealand, while the visitors are expected to be far stronger themselves.Ireland ended New Zealands record 18-match winning sequence in Chicago, and now most neutrals will expect the All Blacks to assert their authority with victory in Dublin.Schmidt for one is intent on ignorring the outside perceptions this week, as Ireland seek a second quick-fire victory over their long-time bogey team.ddddddddddddSouth Africa were the last team to beat New Zealand in successive encounters, back in 2009, further emphasising the scale of Irelands challenge.When quizzed on the general expectations of a New Zealand victory on Saturday, Schmidt replied: Well I hope thats wrong.What we say is right, this is what we believe might work, lets commit to this then set about trying to put it together as best we can. Then we try to get less distracted by what our opponents are doing.We have an awareness of that, but ultimately our focus is on ourselves. If you spend too much time distracted externally youll maybe miss some of your precious preparation time.We probably got them at an opportune time in Chicago. Theyd had 18 wins in a row. While theyd spent a lot of time together, a lot of that time was with Brodie Retallick and Sam Whitelock at lock.They had that big reshuffle in the second row, and we won three line-out balls in the first half that gave us access to the ball and I thought we did well with it. Thats how we accumulated our points. Then even in the back-end of the game I think Ryan Crotty has been outstanding for them, hes been a real linchpin.Hes been the hub of their midfield both in attack and defence, organising and striking some really good lines. Losing him then losing George Moala as well, that allowed us to manage the end-game with a little more calmness.In advance a lot of people were referencing 2013 when we ran them so close in the 24-22 defeat in Dublin, but we didnt have that many similar starters and they had a lot of changes as well. Three years on it was difficult to use that as a reference point. But now theres a very close reference point for them to look at. ' ' '