Toronto Raptors: Will C.J. Miles Take A Big Leap Next Season?

Expectations for this season

Dealing with multiple injuries as well as personal matters last year, Miles stat-line last season should have an asterisk on it. He even made it clear himself that a number of off the court issues affected his play last year.

https://twitter.com/masfresco/status/1021161859494432769

Miles began to look more comfortable creating for himself as the season went along. It probably won’t become a habit for him this upcoming season and Miles should still expect to be used as a spot-up shooter. With Nick Nurse having full control of the team you should also expect Miles to be more involved when creating for others when he’s sharing the court with shooters. It would be far from a surprise to see Miles average a career high in assists.

As a defender, there shouldn’t be any drastic changes for this upcoming season. Not because he isn’t capable, but because there may not be as much pressure for him to defend certain players. Last season there were times when he played minutes with some of the starters simply because they lacked spacing on the floor. In addition to this, DeMar and Miles wouldn’t be considered an ideal defensive pairing on the perimeter. If anything, the defense on the wing for this year should make his defensive numbers look better than last year.

The most important thing for Miles to do next season is to get his three-point percentage back into the 40% range. With Toronto’s offense having more shooters for opposing defenses to focus on, he should get some freedom for better looks. At least a 39% three-point shooting season this year should be good enough. Overall, I expect Miles to have a better season this year as one of the best shooters in the NBA with room to improve in other areas.