The Downbeat #1730: The "who's so dreamy?" Edition

I am pleased to bring you some vintage John Crotty and Scott Padgett highlights, narrated in Japanese:

How exactly do I follow this up?

With about 30-seconds of classic Kwame Brown vs. Jarron Collins low post battles ... including Jarron's signature move:

Since we are slowly approaching the preseason, everybody wants to make lists ranking players. Sports Illustrated ranked the best players under the age of 25. Which is fun for us to look at because that's the majority of our major players.

In the area of not-surprise, here's their top-3:

1. Anthony Davis
2. Kawhi Leonard
3. Kyrie Irving

What we care about, of course, are how they ranked Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors. Well, Gobert came in at #10. Favors at #6.

Here's a list of guys ranked higher than Gobert:

• Tobias Harries (9)
• Victor Olapido (8)
• Brandon Knight(7)

I would not take a single one of these guys over Gobert. And I wouldn't even think about it. At the same time, the ranking seems fair because Gobert's awesomeness is based on a single season in which he only started 37 games. I can understand most people still being hesitant to call Rudy a sure thing. And it's fine. Let him play the season and destroy the world.

And how about the guys ranked above both Favors and Rudy:

• Bradley Beal (5)
• Andre Drummond (4)

I like Bradley Beal. Not more than Favors, though. I can't quite get my mind around the Andre Drummond thing, though. His offense is so limited, and how do you deal with a guy shooting sub-40% from the FT line? He's a fantastic rebounder and shot blocker, but ... I don't know. I think I'd put Favors and Rudy above both of them right now.

Derrick Favors wants to have a conversation:

As some of you know, one of my dumbest and longest-standing hobbies is making fake baseball/basketball cards and statlines. So, of course, I have done this with our Jazz to see what a dream season looks like. So I'm going to present to you the statlines I came up with that would be wonderful for each of the main guys. I tried to be optimistic, but realistic. Here goes:

Gordon Hayward: 21 ppg, 5 rbd, 5 ast, 1 stl, 47% FG, 38% 3P, 85% FT

Derrick Favors: 18 ppg, 9 rbd, 2 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk, 54% FG, 70% FT

Rudy Gobert: 14 ppg, 12 rbd, 2 ast, 1 stl, 3 blk, 58% FG, 70% FT

Rodney Hood: 12 ppg, 3 rbd, 2 ast, 1 stl, 45% FG, 35% 3P, 82% FT

Trey Burke: 8 ppg, 3 rbd, 5 ast, 1 stl, 41% FG, 33% 3P, 85% FT

Alex Burks: 15 ppg, 4 rbd, 3 ast, 1 stl, 46% FG, 38% 3P, 82% FT

So, in my methodology I tried based the full-game stats on last year's Cavs: who had an average pace, higher number of turnovers, and a FGA/FTA distribution similar to the Jazz. Basically, I'm hoping that the Jazz play faster this year and maybe cut turnovers just a bit.

The Cavs got about 82 shots, 23 FTA, and 14.5 TO's per game. Then I allotted about 15-16 shots for other dudes off the bench, and these are the numbers I got for our top six guys based on my wildest dreams hopefully coming true.

I don't expect everyone to have a dream season, but I think one or two may be able to come close. And basically, I'll be ecstatic about each player who gets close. And yes ... in my dream scenario Trey learns he should not be taking more shots than a single one of the other dudes listed.

So anyway ... I'm curious. To all of you:

(a) What kind of performance would be a realistic but dream season for any of these guys? and

(b) Which players do you think are most likely to be able to pull it off and have you spinning around in your 50's gear, smiling big, and shouting to your girlfriends:

Rudy and France play Spain today at 12:50 p.m. Kaysville time. Winner goes to the Olympics. Loser has to try to get in via a tournament next year. Go Rudy. Go France.

SBNation Preview is here.