The Toronto Raptors seem committed to changing their style of play on offense. In this new series of articles, I’ll look at how each projected starter can fit into that “culture change.” Here, we’ll examine C.J. Miles.
So far this month, I’ve explored the changes Toronto Raptors fans can expect as the team rethinks and rebrands its offense. Specifically, I’ve looked at how big men Jonas Valanciunas and Serge Ibaka fit into this “culture change.” You can find those articles here and here.
This time, we’ll take a deep dive into the offensive potential of C.J. Miles. After snagging Miles in a sign-and-trade deal, Raptors president Masai Ujiri said, “We just signed a sniper, so I’m happy.” That was it. He had no opening statement besides that eight-word sentence, which basically tells you all you need to know.
Miles shot 41.3 percent from beyond the arc last season on 8.3 attempts per 36 minutes. Given the dearth of wing options in Toronto – Miles, DeMar DeRozan and Norman Powell are the only proven options – Miles will likely play significant minutes and chuck up a lot of threes.
Fans should question whether last season’s efficiency is sustainable. Miles has always been a strong three-point shooter, but he had never broken that 40 percent threshold prior to 2016-17. His average over his last three seasons in Indiana was 37.4 percent, which is good, but not nearly as threatening.
That being said, Miles is no stranger to steady improvement. He started his career as a DeRozan-esque shooter, before continually graduating to higher volume and higher efficiency.
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If his shooting is here to stay, Miles is an immediate weapon for any offense. Opponents won’t be able to safely help off of him, especially when he’s planted in the corner ready to shoot. Miles canned an absurd 50.8 percent of his corner threes last year.
As a result, DeRozan and Kyle Lowry will have much more space to work with once Miles gets acclimated. The Raptors, meanwhile, will likely shoot a few more threes each game with Miles’ arrival alone. But even if the offense might improve, it won’t change stylistically if Miles is just standing around like DeMarre Carroll used to do. With more movement, he could open up even more space.
Miles doesn’t grade out well coming off screens, finishing in the league’s 40th percentile on those plays last season. He wasn’t much better on dribble-handoffs (45th percentile) and he gets most of his threes on spot-ups (98th percentile).
But Valanciunas is an excellent screener who should free up Miles more often. And even if Miles won’t score much himself coming off screens, he’ll create space for other players. Here’s a typical play you might run for a jump shooter of his caliber:
Here, Miles gets an open shot, but If he continues probing the paint, Otto Porter Jr. has a dangerous decision to make. He can either give the roll man (Ian Mahinmi, in this case) a free dive to the basket or abandon his own man (Paul George) at the three-point line.
On this play, Miles pulls the trigger on a three coming off a down screen:
Even if he doesn’t get open, the play puts Lavoy Allen — who could be Valanciunas, Ibaka or even DeRozan in Toronto — in excellent post position.
Raptors head coach Dwane Casey should also take a page out of the Warriors’ playbook and use Miles as a screener. Both Miles and Lowry are elite gunners, meaning off-ball actions involving those two could confuse defenders and leave one of them open.
An intelligent defensive coach may instruct his players to switch that action, since Miles isn’t going to bully a smaller player to the rim. But not every team likes switching as a first option, and when screen coverage goes poorly, split screens involving an elite shooter can devastate a defense:
Basically, shooting is infinitely adaptable. Miles will likely work as a complementary piece next to DeRozan and Lowry. He’ll can threes from the corner and do his job on defense.
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But when Casey wants to mix things up, Miles can be a screener or a shooter in the primary action. He may not score 15 per game himself, but he’ll open up space for everyone else, and that’s the key to an efficient and creative offense.