a little bit.Ovechkins ninth goal of the season gave the Capitals a

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) Kerryon Johnson Youth Jersey . General manager Jarmo Kekalainen told Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch on Friday that he wants to see Gaboriks contributions go beyond the scoresheet before considering a long-term deal for the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent. Marvin Jones Jr Womens Jersey .C. at the helm of the top team in the Eastern Conference. His tenure as the GM in Vancouver was all too brief. Though he led the Canucks to what was then a franchise record-shattering campaign in just his second season, Nonis was gone and replaced one year later. http://www.shopdetroitlionsnfl.com/lions-kenny-golladay-black-jersey/ . The Vikings announced Thursday that Priefer will be one of seven holdovers from the previous staff, along with offensive line coach Jeff Davidson, wide receivers coach George Stewart and others. Norv Turner will mark his 30th year of coaching in the NFL as the offensive co-ordinator, as widely reported for weeks, and George Edwards will be the defensive co-ordinator. Calvin Johnson Jersey .J. -- Seven games into a disappointing season, New York Giants defensive catalyst Jason Pierre-Paul is getting the feeling hes back. Barry Sanders Youth Jersey . The third-ranked Ivanovic, who won the event in 2008 and 10, served five aces and broke Wickmayer, also a former winner in 2009, five times. "The result looked easier than it really was," Ivanovic said. WASHINGTON -- John Tortorella had worried about Sundays game, the first matinee for the Columbus all season. He didnt want the Washington Capitals to get off to a quick start.The Capitals scored on Nicklas Backstroms goal barely three minutes into the game, but the Blue Jackets didnt fold and got a last-minute goal with Backstrom in the penalty box and escaped with their fourth straight win, 3-2 over the angry Capitals. Backstrom was called for high-sticking Nick Foligno with 1:34 remaining, a penalty that the Capitals vehemently disputed.Alexander Wennberg took a pass from Foligno and slammed it past Capitals goalie Braden Holtby with 54 seconds left in the game. The goal was confirmed after a video review.It was the Blue Jackets second power play goal of the game, and Washington coach Barry Trotz didnt like the call that cost his team.If you see the replay, he doesnt really touch him, and his head pops up when (Backstroms) stick is already on the way down. Thats just a little disrespectful to the game, Trotz said. The penalty call was not great for me.Backstrom, who also assisted on Alex Ovechkins ninth goal of the season midway through the second period, didnt think he touched Foligno.Last two minutes you get a penalty thats not a penalty, thats tough, Backstrom said.Columbus has its longest winning streak since they ran off nine straight wins from March 18-April 4, 2015.Sometimes it seemed like they took over the game more and more but we started to play smart and at the end of the game we felt like we played smart and got opportunity to score, Wennberg said. Find a way to win. Its as eeasy as that.ddddddddddddTortorella, who has eliminated morning skates from the Blue Jackets routine, talked to his team about the perils of getting off to a slow start.They score one, but they dont score the two and three where it can really knock you out in an afternoon game like this, really a morning game, he said. That steadied us a little bit.Ovechkins ninth goal of the season gave the Capitals a 2-1 lead, but the Blue Jackets tied it just 14 seconds into the third period on Brandon Dubinskys second goal of the season.Columbus goal by Foligno six minutes into the second period broke Washingtons streak of 15 straight successful penalty kills.Other than the disputed call, Trotz didnt find much to find fault with -- even though it was the Capitals second loss in five days to the Blue Jackets.They played a solid game. We played a solid game. Theres not going to be a lot of mistakes, Trotz said.Game notes Washington was without C Lars Eller and RW T.J. Oshie. Both have upper-body injuries. They were injured in Fridays game against Detroit. . C Paul Carey was recalled from AHL Hershey. . Columbus D Dalton Prout (upper body) missed his third straight game. . D Todd Jones (foot) was out for the sixth straight game. Tortorella says Jones is back practicing with the team, but isnt sure when hell return.UP NEXT:Blue Jackets: Host Colorado on Monday. They play five games in seven nights.Capitals: Continue season-long five-game homestand against St. Louis on Wednesday. ' ' '