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Quincy Pondexter - #210
Mike Miller - #211
The Grizzlies nearly passed another century mark until their next players showed up on ESPN's rankings. Qpon jumped up an incredible 149 slots this season. I haven't kept track of everyone's improvements, but that has to be one of the more impressive climbs this year. The veteran, Mike Miller, is up 25 spots from last year, a respectable increase that's influenced from his prominent playoff role.
Other notables on the list:
- Darrell Arthur - #201 (down from 168 last year)
- Marreese Speights - #233 (down from 195)
- Wayne Ellington - #277 (up from 344)
- Dante Cunningham - #282 (up from 298)
- Austin Daye - #286 (down from 245...bwahaha)
What's really interesting about this segment of the list is all the ex-Grizzlies that were dealt away from the team in the past year or so. What's more interesting is that the image being painted here portrays "Hollinger's Computer" as being just about spot on the money (taking into account that these ESPN rankings might still be heavily influenced by Hollinger's formulas).
Takeaways:
- Austin Daye is a no-brainer, but I'm still insulted by the premise that he's better than Jon Leuer .... ridiculous.
- Dante Cunningham is just a really athletic, tall guy that can emulate playing basketball pretty well.
- Wayne Ellington got lucky on a lot of 3pt shooting last year.
- Speights really benefited from playing with Marc Gasol in Memphis.
- Darrell Arthur's injuries are slowly killing his career.
More from Grizzly Bear Blues:
- What Does Mike Miller Have Left in the Tank for the Memphis Grizzlies?
- Raising a Grindson: Jamaal Franklin, Present and Future with the Memphis Grizzlies
- A Crucial Season for Memphis Grizzlies PF Ed Davis
- ESPN 2013 Franchise Rankings: How did the Memphis Grizzlies improve?
- Jon Leuer Conspiracy Theory: What's in the water in Long Lake, MN?