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For the NBA, it was the Summer of Inflation.Propelled by an unprecedented amount inflated cap room to play with, the offseason was dominated by stories of market-redefining deals.We had big-ticket transplants (Kevin Durant, Al Horford), veterans with new rotational responsibilities (Jeremy Lin, Timofey Mozgov) and young upside with upgraded roles (Harrison Barnes, Andrew Nicholson).Lost in all the cap-raising commotion? The coaching carousel got spun pretty darn hard.By the time the wheels stopped turning, we had 10 coaching changes.Two were old faces in new places (Mike DAntoni, Nate McMillan). Several coaches moved onto their second gig (Tom Thibodeau, Frank Vogel, Jeff Hornacek, Scott Brooks, Dave Joerger) and three assistants got the big bump up (Luke Walton, Kenny Atkinson, David Fizdale -- although Walton had logged some head-coaching mileage subbing for Steve Kerr last season).Player movement is important in fantasy. But coaching changes can carry even more weight in the redistribution of statistical production.With apologies to Chip Kelly, in reality, system does not trump talent. But in fantasy, a new system can result in massive swings in individual player value.Some coaches turn up the pace (good). Some emphasize defense and the little things (bad). Some shorten rotations (good). Some prefer to spread around minutes in an attempt to find new combinations (very bad).Then theres chemistry. Chemistry is a wispy commodity to quantify. But it can galvanize fantasy value.Obviously, a new coach is brought in because something hasnt worked. Its easier to swap coaches than player personnel. So a new coach will be hired to improve the talent on hand. And sometimes that new voice will suddenly propel players to the next level.Because we have so many new changes to discuss, Im going to pick one player per team whose fortunes have been boosted by a head-coaching change. Lets spin the wheel!Eric Gordon, SG, Houston RocketsLets not bury the lead. Adding offensive guru and Hall of Fame pace inflator Mike DAntoni to an already-potent offense is the single biggest fantasy coaching move of the season. Nothing else is going to come close.Theres a lot of hand-wringing in regard to Houstons teamwide defensive prospects under DAntoni. Thankfully, in Fantasyland, we dont give a darn about teamwide defensive prospects. We care about amount of possessions. And no teams produce possessions at more alarming rates than DAntonis.Its only preseason, but look at Houstons point totals: 131, 130, 123. 116, 125, 106. A lot of fantasy categories are going to be exploding along with those scores.With DAntoni, it all starts with the point guard. Obscure point guards (Kendall Marshall) become fantasy stalwarts. Linsantities are created. Very good-to-great floor generals suddenly become statistical phenomena.And sometimes, DAntoni just proclaims somebody his point guard. And when that guard happens to be James Harden, it has a seismic statistical ripple effect up and down the roster.While its fun to feel your jaw drop when contemplating Hardens numerical prospects, I want to highlight Gordon for a beat. Agreed, Gordon has an equally jaw-dropping injury history. But last I checked, Patrick Beverley isnt exactly looking like Iron Man. Houstons backcourt doesnt have a ton of depth.Beverleys latest injury translates into a golden, possibly career-resuscitating opportunity for Gordon. He gets to open the season as the starting shooting guard alongside Harden. Harden is going to command DEFCON 1-types of defensive panic, which will create gobs of open looks for a 3-point shooter such as Gordon.Gordon is still only 27 years old. If Gordon can stay on the court for 65 to 70 games and log 29 to 32 minutes per game, hell hit 2.5 to 3.0 3-pointers a night. He could score in the range of 17 to 18 points per game.And Houstons inflated pace will help in the other volume spots. Gordons steals, rebounds and assists could all approach his 2012 levels.Gordon is a big injury risk. But he has been a near-endgame selection in most drafts. Sliding down that far makes Gordon a risk well worth taking.Jeremy Lin, PG, Brooklyn NetsThe elements are combining for a throwback to the vintage Linsanity of yesteryear. New Nets coach Kenny Atkinson is more of your classic out of the box hire. He doesnt have a ton of NBA coaching experience.But he is a DAntoni?acolyte. And thats more than enough for us.More importantly, Atkinson was an assistant on the 2011-12 Knicks staff that gave us Linsanity in the first place. In case you forgot, Lin was an undrafted Ivy League point guard that Atkinson helped DAntoni temporarily transform into a fantasy superstar.Now, Lin and Atkinson are reunited in a low-expectation, large-market situation in Brooklyn. After a nice comeback turn for Lin in Charlotte, the stage is perfectly set for a turn-back-the-clock campaign. The fact that Brooklyns preseason pace approached 106 points portends a return to the Player Rater top 30.JaMychal Green, PF, Memphis GrizzliesOver the past two months of the 2015-16 season, Green made the most of his opportunity in an injury-riddled Memphis rotation. New coach David Fizdale has decided to keep Green as a starter. Hes also promised to up Memphis historically prodding pace. Both factors combine to make Green an immediate double-double threat.Greens production beyond points and rebounds tends to arrive in fit and starts. But hes a proven steals generator, and he did post some multiblock games late last season.Julius Randle, PF, Los Angeles LakersLuke Waltons regime is going to invite constant Warriors comparisons. And while thats not fair (and frankly, delusional), we do need to pay attention to how a small-ball approach could boost Randles fantasy value.Double-doubles are a given. But Randle needs to develop production in one or two of the other volume categories to warrant more than a late-round pick. Waltons system should help speed that development.Steals and blocked shots are the two obvious areas of potential improvement. But dont sleep on Randles assists potential. He averaged 1.6 per year in a Kobe vacuum. That amount of dimes for a 4 in that remote-usage outpost underscores potential.Youre going to hear Lakers exceptionalists start comping Draymond Green. Lets not get carried away. But Randle could chip in two to three assists per night, a nice commodity for a post player.Andrew Wiggins, SF, Minnesota TimberwolvesTom Thibodeau is known as a fantasy killjoy. Hes the kind of guy who preaches and emphasizes the qualities (defense, intangibles, winning) that deflate fantasy value.Thibodeaus arrival into a lot of NBA situations would be a cause for fantasy depression. Not so when it comes to the Timberwolves. A team screaming with young upside needs a taskmaster. And no player needs Thibodeau more than Wiggins.Karl-Anthony Towns has already arrived. Heck, he arrived before Veterans Day 2015. But despite his 20 PPG average, Wiggins has yet to truly arrive. For all his physical gifts, Wiggins has lacked for intensity -- the very quality Thibodeau backs up by the truckload.For Wiggins to take the next step -- in fantasy and reality -- he has to become a more reliable 3-point shooter. The midrange development is nice, but it doesnt really help us, outside of some extra volume in the points department. If Thibodeau can help Wiggins get to one 3-pointer per game, that will be huge for Wiggins fantasy potential.Beyond that, Im anticipating a boost in the hustle numbers -- specifically, rebounds. If Wiggins can crack 4.0 rebounds, his steals and blocks will climb accordingly.Otto Porter Jr., SF, Washington WizardsScott Brooks excels at player development, which makes him an ideal match for the underrated, somewhat understated Porter.Porter is sort of a Wiggins lite. Unlike Wiggins, Porter already excels in multiple categories. He just lacks the aggression and volume required to take him into the Player Rater top 50. Theres another level here waiting to surface.Brooks seems to be using the fast-rising specter of Kelly Oubre Jr. to prod Porter. Hopefully, its just a prod and not a looming timeshare.Aaron Gordon, SF/PF, Orlando MagicHow does Frank Vogel deploy Gordon and his cornucopia of multicategorical upside? Early returns point toward Gordon being used more on the wing. The idea of Gordon playing alongside?Serge Ibaka?sparks all kinds of fantasy-forward projecting.Gordon quietly displayed his across-the-board potential after All-Star Weekend 2016. He didnt quite produce the dazzle of a?Kristaps Porzingis, but overall, he was in that neighborhood (and more efficient), closing out with April averages of 14 points, 7.0 repounds, 2.5 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.8 blocks and 0.8 3-pointers.In Indiana, Vogel was instrumental in getting the most out of Paul George. Gordon has George-type upside. He just needs more playing time. Whether or not Gordon gets the minutes required to develop a genuine breakout is up to his new coach.Darren Collison, PG, Sacramento KingsNew Kings coach Dave Joerger was fired in Memphis. It wasnt very fair, given Joergers Herculean efforts in holding together a winning season in the face of multiple season-ending injuries.His reward? To hold it together as the new face of one of the NBAs most dysfunctional teams. Last season, the Kings employed the eminently combustible Rajon Rondo at the point. Rondo delivered a comeback season, then he decamped for the new-look, somewhat-older Chicago Bulls.The new coach should help smooth things out for Collison, who essayed a fine 2014-15 fantasy season (16.1 points, 5.6 assists, 1.2 3-pointeres) before losing his starting gig to Rondo. Collison has had problems of his own this preseason and will miss the first eight games. But once he returns, Joerger should be able to pilot Collison (and his high efficiency) into the top 50 (maybe top 40) overall.Courtney Lee, SG, New York KnicksIn the past, Lee has held decent fantasy value over stretches of seasons. But he has never quite broken through to the point where he would represent more than bench filler. He has been the guy that gets you 1 to 1.5 3-pointers and steals with decent percentages.But I have a feeling Lee could up his production under Jeff Hornacek. Hes in line to start and doesnt have a lot of competition at shooting guard. Hornaceks system is very fantasy friendly. (Just look at some of Phoenixs past fantasy numbers.)Lee isnt a sexy tout. Hes not a hot take. But hes not going to disappoint you in the 12th round. And he might just have a career year.Monta Ellis, SG, Indiana PacersEllis posted an injury-marred, underwhelming 2015-16. Entering his age 31 season, the formerly high-volume Ellis looks to be trending down.But Ellis is going very, very late in drafts. Nate McMillan is the kind of veteran coach Ellis should respond to. And contrary to McMillans track record, Indiana promises to up its pace.Im trying really, really hard here to avoid ending this column with a pun. Ill just inform you that Ellis historically excels in up-tempo situations and is motivated and leave it at that.Fake Vans Free Shiping . LOUIS -- Cardinals cleanup hitter Allen Craig says hes recovered from a foot injury and ready to be put on St. Fake Vans From China . The mixed zone is not a place to make friends. http://www.fakevans.com/ . Anthony Calvillo, through 20 CFL seasons, was frequently invincible and largely stoic in the heat of competition. But underneath the professional exterior he was, and is, compellingly human. Fake Vans Toy Story . -- The St. Johns IceCaps weathered a wild first period with the help of goaltender Jussi Olkinuora, before finding offensive inroads in the second. Fake Vans SK8 . It was Kerbers third final of the year after losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia in Monterrey in April and to Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic in Tokyo two weeks ago. The 10th-ranked German improved her record in finals to 3-5.CHICAGO -- It was kind of like Anatoly Karpov versus Magnus Carlsen, except with 42,000 chess geniuses second-guessing every move. Heres what actually unfolded at Wrigley Field on a madcap Saturday night:It was that longtime October grandmaster Joe Maddon versus Dave Roberts, the bold new tactician on the postseason block, with Game 1 of the National League Championship Series riding on every piece they zig-zagged around the Wrigley chess board.And since the scoreboard said this thing turned out Cubs 8, Dodgers 4, the baseball gods will no doubt override the chess gods and declare Maddon the winner of this feverish duel. But did the winning manager really outmaneuver the losing manager? Even he wasnt exactly sure.Now that, Maddon said, laughing, on his way out of the postgame interview room, was some crazy s---.But before we get into just how crazy -- between the surprising hook for an ace starter, two eminently second-guessable intentional walks, the 10 relief pitchers who showed up on the mound and much, much more -- we need to interject this important announcement:This, ladies and gentlemen, was only the beginning. What we have here, in this NLCS, is two managers who have already shown us they dont believe there is any such thing as normal managing. Especially this time of year.So if you get a charge out of second-guessing, if youve always wanted to see just how upside-down a baseball game could get when two bold, creative, outside-the-box managers grab ahold of it and wont let go, then youre going to find the next week pretty awesome.And if you dont, well, you cant say we didnt warn you.But now back to the barrage of strategic moves they trotted out in this game. If they made your head hurt, you can take solace in this: You werent alone. Cubs catcher David Ross admitted his head was pounding, too, as the late-inning maneuvers kept coming.I just didnt know if it was because I was thinking along with Joe, Ross joked, or a couple of foul balls to the mask.In the end, the Cubs won this game because Miguel Montero marched off their bench and had a Matt Stairs moment, mashing a game-winning, eighth-inning pinch grand slam deep into the Chicago night. On an 0-2 pitch, naturally. Which was thrown by reliever Joe Blanton, a guy who hadnt given up a slam in more than six years.But until the moment Montero swung his bat and everything changed, the chess fans at Wrigley were clearly starting to wonder if this time, for once, Maddon had overthought and overmanaged his way to a shocking come-from-ahead defeat.So lets run through the Maddon moves that sent this game spiraling in an unintended direction. It all began with his decision to pinch hit for his Game 1 starter, Jon Lester, with two outs in the sixth inning and a runner on second.Lester had a 3-1 lead at the time, had thrown only 77 pitches and had given up only a wind-blown home run to pinch hitter?Andre Ethier in the top of the sixth. Even Lester made it obvious, both at the time and afterward, that he wasnt a big fan of exiting this game. But Maddon defended it vociferously.He had a chance to add on to a two-run lead, he said. He knew he could manipulate his bullpen to force the Dodgers into burning their bench, he said. And, above all, he didnt think Lester was pitching as well as his line indicated.If Jon was on top of his game, I may not have done it, Maddon said. But I didnt think he had his best stuff tonight.Now if only pinch hitter Jorge Soler had knocked in that insurance run and if the Cubs bullpen had closed this thing out as neatly as Maddon envisioned, we wouldnt be picking apart what happened next. But that isnt how it worked out in real life, naturally.Instead, Maddon found himself in a mix-and-match bullpen parade, with five different relievers heading for the mound in the seventh and eighth innings. Which was mostly just what he had in mind -- until Mike Montgomery and Pedro Strop went and loaded the bases in the eighth. With nobody out.So that forced Maddon into a move he didnt want to make -- calling on his closer, Aroldis Chapman, to try to triple-digit his way out of this mess -- but I had no choice, the manager said. And that was especially true, he said, because Corey Seager was due to hit. And I did not want anybody to face him except Aroldis, Maddon said. That was set up from the beginning.It was all working out just fine when Chapman reared back and struck out Seager for the first out, then whooshed a 103-mile-per-hour smokeball past Yasiel Puig for the second out. But when Chapman tried to throw his 11th consecutive fastball of the inning past Adrian Gonzalez, Gonzalez roped it up the middle for a tying single -- not to mention the first hit hed ever gotten as a Dodger on a pitch thrown at 100 mph or faster.It was the second time this postseason Maddon had tried bringing in Chapman in the eighth inning -- and all he has gotten out of it is two blown saves.dddddddddddd But the manager said hell do it again if he has to. And remember that, because he very well might have to.Because it didnt work out doesnt mean it was wrong, Maddon said.You might want to read those words again. Why? Because pretty much every manager in history has had to utter them -- if not to the media, then to himself -- at some point in his life. Its the only path to managerial sanity.But in this case, it was tough not to circle back to the decision to hook Lester -- because that move led to five other moves, which led to a tie score, which led to a very nervous Wrigley Field.Except then it was the other managers turn to start spinning the roulette wheel. So now lets train this microscope on Dave Roberts.A Ben Zobrist leadoff double in the bottom of the eighth got Roberts brainwaves stirring. And you second-guessers out there sprung back to life immediately, now didnt you?First, with Zobrist on second and one out, Roberts opted to intentionally walk Jason Heyward, he of the .230 average for the season, .224 average with men in scoring position and .133 average in the postseason -- to face the sizzling Javy Baez (8-for-19 in the postseason at that point).Obviously in that situation, Roberts said afterward, youve got to walk Heyward, with the open base.Uh, obviously? Lets just say it didnt seem quite so obvious to the masses. But whatever. It worked, when Blanton got Baez to pop to short right for the second out.But Maddon then went to his bench again and sent the left-handed Chris Coghlan up to pinch-hit for Ross. And with Chapman on deck, Roberts did something that only three other managers have done in any postseason game in the last 60 years. He intentionally walked Coghlan -- WITH BOTH FIRST AND SECOND BASE OCCUPIED -- to load the bases.According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that had happened only three other times since intentional walks were first officially tracked in 1955: The Phillies walked Buster Posey in that situation in the 2010 NLCS. Tony La Russa and the Cardinals did it with Damian Miller?in the 2001 NLDS. And, most famously, Bobby Cox had Steve Avery walk Bernie Williams in the 10th inning of Game 4 of the 1996 World Series -- right before Avery unintentionally walked Wade Boggs to force in the winning run.Asked if he could see this intentional walk to Coghlan coming from his excellent vantage point at second base, Zobrist replied, frankly: No. And I dont think THEY (the Dodgers) did either -- their players.But Roberts was adamant that it was all worth it, because he knew it would mean the Cubs were going to have to take Chapman out of this game. Considering the left-handed hitters who were due up for his team in the ninth, Roberts said, he didnt love the matchups.As the game was tied, youre trying to figure out a way to win it, Roberts said. And whats the best way to win that game? Is to get him out of the game. So, I felt that if we did that, then the game was ours.Except, as we know now, this game wasnt theirs. Left-hander Grant Dayton was warmed up. But Roberts left the right-hander, Blanton, in the game to face the left-handed hitting Montero. And, well, uh-oh.Montero teed off on a hanging slider, to mash the first pinch-hit grand slam in an October baseball game since a Ricky Ledee blast for the 1999 Yankees. And isnt it funny how one fortuitous swing of the bat can blow all that managerial logic to smithereens?Thats baseball, Roberts said. You can do the right things, but they cant always work out.But I think the process, for me, I felt really good about it. And I would do the same thing over again. Ten times out of 10, I would take Joe Blanton against Montero.Meanwhile, the winning manager was humming a similar tune. And quoting one of his big managerial mentors, Gene Mauch.Play the game three times -- before, during and after. Gene told me that many, many years ago, Maddon said. I will tomorrow, with my cup of coffee -- large, a large Americano. Ill sit there and go over this whole thing again and rehash it.But he has zero regrets, he said. Hed thought it all through before the game ever began. Hed seen these moves in his head before he ever made them. So would he spend all night watching them spring back to life in his nightmares? Maddon had no intention of cueing up the nightmares.He defended every decision. Once. Twice. Every time we asked. So then the talk turned to the decisions made by the chess king on the other side of the board. Was he surprised that Roberts issued the intentional walk that loaded the bases for Montero? Maddon smiled one more time.I probably would have done the same thing he did, he said. ' ' '