Miles has three-point plan to better his shooting stats
C. J. Miles i sn’ t particularly happy with where his game is right now.
T he Toronto Raptors’ 30 - year- old knock- down shooter was brought in and earns the money he does (on a three- year US$ 25- million deal) because he’s able to make three- pointers at a higher rate than a lot of the NBA.
He has had games of late where he has done that, but for every good game there are usually two that don’t go so well. That’s been going on for about a month and a half now. A 43 per cent threepoint shooter a year ago, Miles began the season with that kind of success through November, but has seen that number drop to 36 per cent in December and just 34 per cent in January. Those numbers might be OK for some players, but not someone whose game is built around that particular shot.
That drop has coincided with a decline in his minutes and while Miles would love more time on the court, he’s not about to complain because he’s not producing.
“You want to play more, then you play better,” Miles says. “That is why you never hear me complain about me going one for whatever and then playing 15 minutes … because I was trash.”
“I don’t know any other way to put it,” Miles said. “You play well, you play more, and that has been the case. Two games ago, I played 27 minutes because I played well. The next night, I played 25 because I played well. It should be based on that.
“You want to win games — put the people who give you the best chance to win on the floor. Plain and simple, that’s every single night.”
With 12 years in the NBA, Miles has a somewhat uncommon level of maturity.
“You keep playing like crap, you can move any time,” Miles said when asked about his fluctuating minutes. “If you are supposed to make shots and you don’t make shots, I deserve to be on the bench. I deserve to play 15 minutes if I’m not doing my job.
“I’m never going to complain, if I’m not doing my job, about not being on the floor. That i sn’ t right as a basketball player. That shouldn’t be your mindset. If you are not doing what you are supposed to do, you should be able to comprehend that as a grown- up, as a basketball player — anything. You should be able to figure that out.”
Miles at least sees a light at the end of the tunnel.
A big reason his shooting started to slip was a series of injuries, life changes and then an out- of- nowhere setback — all resulting from one stubborn wisdom tooth.
A shoulder i njury and even the arrival of daughter Ava knocked his work- life balance out of whack, but they were comparatively small blips in a busy December. The shoulder healed relatively quickly and he has adapted to all the ways raising a child changes your life.
The tooth was another matter, creating all kinds of problems, including headaches and diet issues. After the surgery, he was initially unable to eat solid food, which curtailed his workout time. He also battled headaches and sleep loss.
Miles is back in a manageable rhythm. The headaches are gone, he’s back on both a regular diet and workout routine.
Slowly but surely, life is returning to normal. He now finds himself fighting the urge to overdo things as far as getting back to where he wants to be.
“You gotta try to find a balance where you still have everything for the game,” he says. “You work so hard and obsess over it so much and do so much, it becomes like a mental block more than anything else.
“You keep telling yourself you are not ( making shots) because you are not doing enough which isn’t always the problem. You just got to settle back into the game and do things the right way. Right now, I’m just searching.”
Miles is getting there, though. You can see it on the court and in his demeanour.
A tough time now might even be beneficial in the long run when say his team needs him most in April and May.