Player efficiency

[Alex Wang <awang@mit.edu>]

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