Hi all,
I have been analysing some player stats lately, and I've been looking at lot at a stat that few people seem to use, which is Points Per Field Goal Attempt (or PPFFGA).
I know there are a ton of stats out there to measure offensive efficiency, but the things I like about this one are that it:
1) Is super easy to calculate
2) Isn't biased towards any one offensive skill set (for example - adding weight for threes)
3) Helps to expose the guys who score purely because they are chuckers
4) Gives credit to guys who are better scorers than their numbers (due to lack of minutes / attempts) may indicate
Anyway, I calculated this figure for a bunch of random players (modern and historic) and have put current and past Celtics in bold.
Some of the results are pretty interesting:
Phil Pressey - 0.912Dante Exum - 0.941
Elfrid Payton - 1.035
Evan Turner - 1.060Avery Bradley - 1.061Marc Gasol - 1.068
Michael Carter Williams - 1.083
Jared Sullinger - 1.096Marcus Smart - 1.099
Chris Webber - 1.143
Rajon Rondo - 1.125Jason Kidd - 1.125
Bill Russell - 1.126Nerlens Noel - 1.137
Jae Crowder - 1.137Joe Johnson - 1.161
Josh Smith - 1.162
Marcus Thornton - 1.165Jabari Parker - 1.171
Derek Rose - 1.179
John Wall - 1.189
Lemarcus Aldridge - 1.190
Jeff Green - 1.192Rudy Gay - 1.935
Zach Randolph - 1.196
Klay Thompson - 1.199
Jason Terry - 1.213Andrew Wiggins - 1.215
Jonas Jerebko - 1.22
Kelly Olynyk - 1.221Anfernee Hardaway - 1.226
Kevin Garnett - 1.230Russell Westbrook - 1.23
Dominique Wilkins - 1.234
Enes Kanter - 1.244
Kobe Bryant - 1.245
Kyrie Irving - 1.250
Tyler Zeller - 1.250Demarcus Cousins - 1.252
Clyde drexler - 1.252
Larry Bird - 1.260
Brandon Bass - 1.264Damian Lillard - 1.265
Greg Monroe - 1.265
Serge Ibaka - 1.266
Carmelo Anthony - 1.279
Kyle Korver - 1.282
Eric Gordon - 1.282
Hakeem Olajuwon - 1.282
Marcin Gortat - 1.286
Julius Erving - 1.287
Patrick Ewing - 1.288
Kyle Lowry - 1.289
Javale McGee - 1.292
Ray Allen - 1.295Andre Iguodala - 1.296
Andre Drummond - 1.301
Robert Parish - 1.306Brook Lopez - 1.307
Tim Duncan - 1.309
Paul Millsap - 1.310
Michael Jordan - 1.314
Stephen Curry - 1.314
JJ Reddick - 1.317
Gerald Wallace - 1.322 
Wilt Chamberlain - 1.338
Isaiah Thomas - 1.345Kevin Love - 1.345
Chris Paul - 1.345
Dork Nowitzki - 1.345
Pau Gasol - 1.346
Steve Nash - 1.349
Blake Griffin - 1.352
Kareem Abdul Jabbar - 1.359
Anthony Davis - 1.360
Jimmy Butler - 1.360
Dwyane Wade - 1.362
Paul Pierce - 1.362Shawn Kemp - 1.364
Chris Bosh - 1.368
Lebron James - 1.390
Karl Malone - 1.400
Kevin McHale - 1.409
Nene - 1.425
Kevin Durant - 1.43
John Stockton - 1.440
Reggie Miller - 1.444
Amare Stoudemire - 1.456
David Robinson - 1.465
Shaquille Oneal - 1.472
Magic Johnson - 1.477
James Harden - 1.504
Charles Barkley - 1.524
Tyson Chandler - 1.571
DeAndre Jordan - 1.600
Dwight Howard - 1.616
First of all, it's promising to see that Marcus Smart's PPFGA number is already higher than the career numbers for Avery Bradley, Evan Turner and Jared Sullinger. A surprise given that all three of those guys have both shot a significantly higher FG%, and scored significantly more points-per-36-minutes for their careers than Smart has so far. So why is Smart more efficient offensively, then? Well, not only do 54% of Smart's points come from the three point line, he's also averaging a very impressive 0.44 FTA / FGA. For the sake of comparison, Russell Westbrook (known as one of the best in the league at getting to the line) also averages 0.445 FTA/FGA, so Marcus Smart is already doing a very good job of getting to the line.
A somewhat more disturbing thing to take from this list - three of the guys who rank in the bottom 10 on this list (Marcus Smart. Avery Bradley and Evan Turner) happen to be in our starting lineup. To make matters worse, if Sullinger hadn't been injured (and replaced in the starting lineup by Bass) that would be 4 our of 5 starters. No wonder our offense struggles so much!!!
Some more things that caught my interest:
* Isaiah Thomas is an offensive beast
* Brandon Bass is much more efficient a scorer than we give him credit for
* Kelly Olynyk is also none too shabby
* Tyler Zeller is not far off Brandon Bass, and might have more offensive potential than we realise.
Not surprising that we started playing much better once we put Zeller and Bass together in the starting lineup, and then added Isaiah Thomas as our weapon off the bench.
Oh, and Paul Pierce should be recognised as one of the the most greatest scorers in NBA history. For a perimeter oriented player who absolutely LIVED off contested midrange jumpers to have a scoring efficiency up there with the likes of Kareem, Pau Gasol, Lebron James and Steve Nash says a lot about how versatile he was in his prime.
Main thing I take from all this is that I'd like to see us with a starting lineup of Isaiah Thomas, Marcus Smart, Jae Crowder, Brandon Bass and Tyler Zeller - then with Olynyk off the bench. That looks like out best group of guys to build around at this point, and offers a solid offense/defense balance.
I'd look to deal Bradley, Turner and Sully and try to bring in a talented young small forward or rim protector.
Note:
I've been criticising Kevin Love a lot around here and arguing that he only scores so much because he takes a lot of shots. While it's true that he shoots a lot, his scoring efficiency proves that he's a much more capable scorer than I have given him credit for. It's time for me to admit I was wrong and give credit where it's due.
Topic: An interesting stat - Points per FGA (Read 567 times)