Miles at the front of back-of-line shooters

Newcomer has shown off his three-point prowess throughout the pre-season

It speaks volumes about Toronto’s three-point shooting in the past decade that when DeMar DeRozan goes deep into the archives when he is asked which Raptors teammate he has played with has had as quick and efficient a release as C.J. Miles. “Peja Stojakovic,” DeRozan said. Stojakovic, certainly one of the best three-point shooters of his era, played a grand total of two games in a Toronto uniform back in the 2010-11 season, hardly a memorable tenure.

“It’s the truth, though,” DeRozan said. “(Miles does) it with no effort, especially when he’s wide open.”

Miles does bring a component of a lightning-quick release and a willingness to shoot whenever he’s got the smallest of openings. It’s something that the Raptors desperately need.

Head coach Dwane Casey trotted out a handful of big-name shooters when he was talking about Miles, his release and players the coach has been around.

“He’s right at the top,” Casey said. “Ray Allen, Hersey Hawkins, Dale Ellis, he ranks right there at the top of those guys, as far as pure shooters.

“Dirk Nowitzki’s not really a quick release, Stojakovic takes a little time to wind up, but (Miles is) right at the top as far as the best shooters I’ve been around.”

Miles shot 43.8 per cent from threepoint range for Toronto in five preseason games, and punctuated the exhibition season by making six in 11 attempts in a win in Chicago.

“C.J.’s definitely one of the shooters in the league that you have to specially scout for if he’s not on your team,” DeRozan said.

A DOZEN MAPLES: Canada is responsible for the second-most players on NBA opening-night rosters. Including two players on two-way contracts — Golden State rookie Chris Boucher — there are a dozen Canadians on the list.

The other 11: Tristan Thompson, Cleveland; Dwight Powell, Dallas; Ja- mal Murray and Trey Lyles, Denver; Cory Joseph, Indiana; Tyler Ennis, L.A. Lakers; Dillon Brooks, Memphis; Kelly Olynyk, Miami; Andrew Wiggins, Minnesota; Nik Stauskas, Philadelphia; and Khem Birch, Orlando.

LESS IS MORE: The NBA lopped 10 days off the training camp period, the league is starting the season early, and teams cut back on pre-season games from seven or eight to four or five.

And it still wasn’t enough for DeMar DeRozan.

“It sucks,” he joked Tuesday. “Even after they cut it down.”

Fortunately, the real games start Thursday for DeRozan and the Raptors.