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Player efficiency
Here is my comparison of the "scoring efficiency (SE)" of Walker, Mercer,
and Pierce. I've added Walker and Mercer's SE of last year for comparison.
The way I calculate it is
SE = points / 2*(fga + .5*fta).
The idea is that two free throws is equivalent to a shot attempt; there
are some problems, e.g. a free throw after a made basket shouldn't be
counted. But you can't figure these things out from player's stats.
I prefer SE to field goal percentage because
1) FG% doesn't reflect free throws. If you draw a foul and hit two
free throws, that is as good as a made basket. FG% ignores this.
2) FG% doesn't reflect 3-pointers.
I divide by two to turn it into a "percentage" which is purely aesthetic.
Here are the stats:
1998-1999:
Walker .471
Mercer .461
Pierce .526
1997-1998:
Walker .474
Mercer .486
A few notes:
1) Walker has actually not gotten significantly worse in this statistic
this year; his improved three-point shooting offsets his lower two
point shooting and free throws. Walker would actually have a
SE of .481 this year if he shot free throws as well as he did
last year (64.5%).
2) Mercer has definitely suffered this year as he seems to force contested
shots and take the basket to the hole against multiple defenders.
3) Pierce's SE of .526 beats other top small forwards such as
Shareef (.519), Grant Hill (.518), Glen Rice (.518), Glenn
Robinson (.515) and Vince Carter (.506). If you subtract out Pierce's
poor March stats, he has a phenomenal SE of .544.
Alex