Offtopic/fun » order.Meanwhile, Giannis Antetokoun

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