CJ Miles is an excellent role player and a great pickup for the Toronto Raptors. Terrence Ross at his best is an offensive weapon.

CJ Miles is an excellent role player and a great pickup for the Raptors. Terrence Ross at his best is an offensive weapon. The problem with Ross is that he is rarely playing his best basketball. CJ Miles may never be an offensive star, but he is the model of consistency for a three-point specialist.

CJ Miles Splits This Last Season

All-Star Break GP MPG FG% 3PM 3P% FTM FT% RPG APG TPG SPG BPG PPG Pre-All Star 51 23.1 43.4 2.2 41.7 1.1 87.5 2.9 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.4 10.6 Post-All Star 25 24 43.5 2.3 40.6 1.1 96.6 3.2 0.8 0.5 0.5 0.2 10.9

Taking Shots

Terrence Ross’ best season was arguably his sophomore NBA campaign. It was the last time he played good defense. In the three seasons following, Ross showed little to no development. In fact, not only has he shown no development, he has been abysmal in the playoffs.

Terrence Ross's Playoff Stats

Year Team MPG FG% 3PM 3P% eFG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TPG PPG 2013-14 TOR 22.6 29.8 0.6 16.7 34 60 2 0.3 0.9 0.4 1.1 5 2014-15 TOR 26.8 37.9 1.5 33.3 48.3 N/A 1.5 1 0.8 1 0.5 7 2015-16 TOR 16.8 38.7 1.1 32.8 47.5 65 1.6 0.6 0.7 0.3 0.8 6.3 Career 19.4 36.4 1 29.2 44.4 64 1.7 0.5 0.7 0.4 0.8 6.1

Terrific Terrence

It’s no secret that Terrence Ross is one of the best dunkers in the NBA. Check out this video from the 2013 Dunk Contest.

He is super athletic but the problem is he does not use it outside a dunk competition. In a typical game, Ross is a one-tool player. When he is hitting threes, he’s somewhat useful. In November with the Raptors this last season Terrence Ross was on fire. His shooting splits in that month were 51%/46%/94%. Those shooting numbers are comparable to Steph Curry’s MVP season. Unfortunately, Ross’s shooting fell off a cliff shortly after November.

Magic Ross

Terrence Ross has been far from Magic after being traded to Orlando. Despite playing almost nine more minutes per game for the Magic, this season Ross’s performance was subpar.

Terrence Ross's Stats as a Member of the Orlando Magic

GP MPG FG 3P FT TS USG ORtg DRtg +/- RPG APG SPG BPG TPG PPG 24 31.2 43% 34% 85% 54% 18% 98 113 -2.5 2.8 1.8 1.4 0.5 1.5 12.5

CJ Kilometers

CJ Miles might be a one-tool three-point shooter, but he has a high basketball IQ. You won’t catch Miles traveling or displaying poor decision making. Some of the decisions Ross has made in his playoff career are baffling. From backcourt violations to failed inbounds, no mistake is off limits for Terrence Ross. However, we did see CJ Miles miss a critical buzzer beater against the Cavs in the playoffs this year. Paul George not only called him out for missing the shot, but also for taking it. In my opinion, it was a good attempt for Miles. Yes, he missed it, but his decision making was right. Consider this, Miles is a 40% three-point shooter which makes him one of the better three-point shooters in the NBA. But even the best three-point shooters in the NBA are going to miss more shots than they make.

Does CJ Miles Fit the Raptors System?

The Raptors desperately need three-point shooting. Aside from Kyle Lowry, Serge Ibaka, and Norman Powell there really was not anyone else that could be trusted to shoot from deep. So, Miles definitely fits a need. There are some fans worried that Miles won’t be as productive on the Raptors as he was on the Pacers. Carroll wasn’t as productive with the Raptors as he was with the Hawks, but that’s a very different situation. Carroll went from one of the best passing offenses in the Hawks to one of the worst. Miles is not coming from an above average passing offense in the Pacers. Yes, he is joining the Raptors who struggle to move the basketball, but Toronto has made a point of saying they want to diversify the offense and get away from ISO ball. Now I do not expect the Raptors will suddenly become one of the best passing offenses in the league with this game plan shift, but there is no reason why they cannot get close to producing average ball movement. If that happens to be the case, there is no need to worry about CJ Miles’s shot playing in a Raptors uniform.

CJ Miles isn’t a star, but he is a quality role player Toronto desperately needed. The Raptors lost key role players this summer in PJ Tucker and Patrick Patterson, but they drafted OG Anunoby and brought in CJ Miles. The Raptors may not have surpassed the Cavs, but at the same time, they haven’t lost ground on the Celtics and Wizards.