Random Stat: Points per Field Goal Attempt
Q: I'm a little new to your site. When I hear about Kobe's 35 point average, I always add, derisively, "on 35 shots" - so I was wondering, do you have a stat for the highest scoring averages on fewest field goal attempts? -- bpearce (tx)
A: well that's a number we can certainly produce, but the basketball "stat snobs" will scoff at the idea of not including other factors in a player efficiency look such as turnovers, assists, offensive rebounds, etc. Still we're with you, it's an interesting look, and maybe we'll examine the question of whether it does correlate well with team success.
Highest Points per FGA (Min: 10.0 Pts/Game)
| Player |
Team |
Pts/G |
Pts/Fga |
| Curry |
NYK |
14.2 |
1.55 |
| Maggette |
LAC |
21.7 |
1.54 |
| Jefferson |
NJN |
18.9 |
1.54 |
| Martin |
SAC |
10.5 |
1.52 |
| Billups |
DET |
18.9 |
1.49 |
| Ginobili |
SAS |
15.5 |
1.48 |
| Iguodala |
PHI |
11.9 |
1.48 |
| Bosh |
TOR |
22.5 |
1.45 |
| Pierce |
BOS |
26.5 |
1.45 |
| Abdur-Rahim |
SAC |
13.7 |
1.44 |
| Howard |
ORL |
15.6 |
1.44 |
| Wade |
MIA |
27.4 |
1.44 |
| O'Neal |
MIA |
19.4 |
1.42 |
| Ilgauskas |
CLE |
16.1 |
1.40 |
| Kirilenko |
UTA |
15.7 |
1.39 |
| Lewis |
SEA |
21.1 |
1.39 |
| Nash |
PHO |
19.4 |
1.38 |
| Wallace |
CHA |
14.5 |
1.37 |
| Garnett |
MIN |
21.6 |
1.37 |
| Brand |
LAC |
25.3 |
1.37 |
| Szczerbiak |
MIN |
20.2 |
1.37 |
| James |
CLE |
31.2 |
1.36 |
| Harris |
DAL |
10.2 |
1.36 |
| Arenas |
WAS |
28.4 |
1.36 |
| Nowitzki |
DAL |
25.1 |
1.35 |
|
We were picking on Eddy Curry in a random stat not so long ago (leading the lead in offensive fouls among other things), but the truth is yes, he does score at a very efficient points per shot attempt rate.
The top of the table is really dominated though by the perimeter players who almost seem to be more concerned with drawing a foul than making a shot -- Maggette, Jefferson, Billups, Ginobili sometimes seem to spend the better part of the game at the free throw line.
In general it's a pretty powerful list of names, containing a huge number of the true NBA superstars. Even the dissed by our questioner Kobe Bryant is not far off the leaderboard, coming in at 1.31 points per FGA and good for 45th place in the league right now.
The least points per shot (10 pts/game min)?
0.97 - Rush
1.03 - B.Jackson
1.03 - Giricek
1.04 - Ford
1.05 - Webber
1.05 - Tinsley
1.07 - Z.Randolph
1.08 - Howard (Hou)
1.08 - Alston
|
All right then, so what's the team connection to all this?
Team Points per FGA
| Team |
Off. |
Def. |
Net |
| Detroit |
1.26 |
1.12 |
+.14 |
| Dallas |
1.36 |
1.25 |
+.11 |
| Indiana |
1.25 |
1.15 |
+.10 |
| Sacramento |
1.25 |
1.16 |
+.09 |
| San Antonio |
1.20 |
1.13 |
+.07 |
| Cleveland |
1.29 |
1.23 |
+.06 |
| Miami |
1.30 |
1.25 |
+.05 |
| Phoenix |
1.19 |
1.14 |
+.05 |
| Philadelphia |
1.27 |
1.23 |
+.04 |
| Washington |
1.21 |
1.17 |
+.04 |
| Denver |
1.25 |
1.22 |
+.03 |
| Boston |
1.31 |
1.30 |
+.01 |
| L.A. Clippers |
1.23 |
1.22 |
+.01 |
| Memphis |
1.21 |
1.20 |
+.01 |
| New Orleans |
1.23 |
1.22 |
+.01 |
| New Jersey |
1.29 |
1.29 |
+.00 |
| New York |
1.33 |
1.33 |
+.00 |
| Orlando |
1.30 |
1.30 |
+.00 |
| Golden State |
1.19 |
1.21 |
-.02 |
| L.A. Lakers |
1.25 |
1.27 |
-.02 |
| Milwaukee |
1.26 |
1.28 |
-.02 |
| Houston |
1.20 |
1.23 |
-.03 |
| Minnesota |
1.18 |
1.21 |
-.03 |
| Chicago |
1.21 |
1.27 |
-.06 |
| Toronto |
1.31 |
1.37 |
-.06 |
| Atlanta |
1.25 |
1.33 |
-.08 |
| Portland |
1.17 |
1.25 |
-.08 |
| Utah |
1.23 |
1.34 |
-.11 |
| Seattle |
1.25 |
1.38 |
-.13 |
| Charlotte |
1.17 |
1.31 |
-.14 |
|
For starters the correlation between the Points per FGA and team winning percentage breaks down like this for the 05-06 season to this point:
+.76 Net
+.13 Offense
-.67 Defense
So that's pretty impressive for the Net and Defensive components. Of course, if you move to a pure points per game, or points per 100 possessions, you'll be even better still. Nevertheless, the quick read isn't bad on some levels.
If you're looking for some post All Star break "breakout" teams you might want to consider Sacramento since they are #4 in this stat, can expect improvement defensively with Artest on board, and have some nice young guys (Martin, Garcia) making things happen alongside the veteran core. And yes, we are rooting for Abdur-Rahim to finally see the playoffs.
On the other hand, a team likely to disappear from the playoff race altogether might be Utah, which has an atrocious defensive number in this measure, and are third worst in the league overall.
Another team to watch is Milwaukee who posted an incredible record in close games for the first half of the season, but may see the tide turning down the stretch if their 1.28 number on defense holds true.
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If you're trying to figure out why the offensive correlation is so much lower than the defense and net, just take a look at the top teams:
Offense
1.36 - Dallas
1.33 - New York
1.31 - Boston
1.31 - Toronto
1.30 - Orlando
...four of the top five are currently distant from even making the playoffs!
Do you have an idea for a cool "random stat" you would like to see? If so, drop us a line
Random Stat Archive
Player Assisted% on FGM (2/15)
Types of Turnovers (2/12)
Goaltending "Leaders" (2/10)
Shot Clock Studs (2/09)
Team Starter/Bench stats (2/07)
Free Throw shooting home versus away (2/04)
Who gets their shot blocked the most? (2/03)
Plus/Minus stats over the last 30 days (2/02)
What percentage of the time has each team been leading? (2/01)
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