Is C.J. Miles Going To End Up Being A Bust?

Nov 5, 2014; Washington, DC, USA; Indiana Pacers guard C.J. Miles (0) shoots the ball as Washington Wizards forward Paul Pierce (34) defends in the first quarter at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Is C.J. Miles going to end up being a free agency bust for the Indiana Pacers?

C.J. Miles was signed to a four-year, $18 million contract by the Indiana Pacers this past offseason, and both sides were hoping that he would be able to come in and be the bench shooter and scorer that the Pacers needed last year. Unfortunately, Lance Stephenson walked away in free agency and Paul George suffered a gruesome broken leg which immediately forced Miles to be penciled in as the starting small forward.

Throughout the first six regular season games that Miles has played in, he has averaged just 7.7 points, 1.8 assists, and 1.5 rebounds per game. Perhaps the most concerning part of Miles’ struggles this year, is the fact that he has shot just 24.6 percent from the field and 16.7 percent from behind the three-point arc. Those numbers simply aren’t going to cut it, and it has many Pacers fans concerned about whether or not signing Miles will end up being a bust.

Indiana has asked a lot more of Miles by inserting him into the starting lineup as the starting small forward. He hasn’t had that type of responsibility in quite some time, and was more of a scorer only off the bench with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Unfortunately for the Pacers, he doesn’t seem to fit very well with the system that Frank Vogel likes to run. Miles is more of a pull-up shooter off of the dribble, and the majority of his looks with the Pacers are coming off of penetration and spot-up looks. Whether or not that has been the main reason that he has struggled or not, it is a concern that is very real.

Poor shooting numbers from Miles practically cancel out exactly why the Pacers signed him. They viewed him as a strong perimeter shooter with the ability to get to the rim, and that hasn’t been seen at all this season. His three-point shooting has been terrible, but his inside game and even layups have been even worse than that.

Needless to say, there is major concern surrounding Miles from the Pacers. He has missed a handful of games already as well due to some injury and illness issues, and the signing as a whole is looking like a mistake. That being said, it’s a very long season and he may still turn things around and get back to playing at a high level and shooting the ball well.

No matter what happens, the Pacers are not in a position where they can take him off of the floor and just accept it as a loss. Indiana is going to continue giving him playing time and hoping that he can break out of his shooting slump. If he does end up breaking out and shooting up to his ability, the Pacers might very well end up getting that deadly perimeter shooter that they were hoping that they signed.