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Miles Continues To Work and Wait

For what it's worth, C.J. Miles ended practice on Sunday by hitting at least 18 consecutive 3-point shots on the Teachers Credit Union practice court. And, for what it's worth, he was the last player off the main court after practice on Monday.

Time will tell whether his time and attitude turn out to be worth anything.

Miles has not yet been a factor in the Pacers' playoff series with Toronto, but prepares as if he plans to be. He's scored the not-so-grand total of 15 points over the four games, hitting 6-of-20 field goals and 1-of-11 3-pointers. But he hasn't given up hope for a revival. He knows he can't control his playing time, his role, or how the Raptors defend him, but he can put in the work to keep his shot lubricated, just in case.

"It's going to happen when it happens," he said. "If you play the game the right way and keep respecting the game and keep working and stay ready for the chances you get …"

Good things can happen. But this isn't what Miles was expecting when he put in more hours than any Pacers player inside The Fieldhouse over the summer. It's not what he was expecting when he opened the season in the small-ball starting lineup and averaged 16.1 points over the first 20 games while hitting 44 percent of his 3-pointers. It's not what he was expecting even after losing his starting position when Myles Turner emerged, or when he missed nine consecutive games with an injury.

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And, it's certainly not what he was expecting after he closed the season by averaging 16 points over the last five games while hitting 18-of-36 3-point attempts.

Miles could be angry, could be frustrated, could be despondent. But all he has to do is glance at the ink on his right arm for perspective. That's where the Serenity Prayer is tattooed:

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.

"It's tough because there were a lot of things throughout the season that I didn't see coming," he said. "I didn't see sliding to the four spot and having to learn a different position. I didn't see a lot of things that happened during the season. I just tried to figure out a way to make it work. That's how I'm going to be, that's who I've been, that's why I've been here, that's what I'm still here."

The Pacers plan to try to continue with the sort of balanced offensive attack that enabled George Hill and Ian Mahinmi to score 22 points in Saturday's victory. Miles could be next in line as a beneficiary, as could a few other Pacers who have contributed high-scoring games in the past, but not in this series.

Miles feels like a bit of a marked man. The Raptors know his history as a jump shooter, and are switching off on him coming off screens and staying with him on the weak side. They're a strong defensive team anyway, so nothing comes easily.

He had his best game of the series on Saturday despite hitting just two field goals – an 18-footer off Mahinmi's assist in the second quarter and a tip-in as the third quarter buzzer sounded. But as with Myles Turner, the threat he poses as a shooter contributes something to the offense even when he's not scoring.

"If I'm a decoy, I'm decoy," he said. "Whatever I can do to make space for somebody else … just keep running the stuff like I do to get open and hope they make a mistake. Either I get open or I get somebody else open by cutting hard."

Still, he looks forward to getting into a rhythm and getting a barrage going. It's happened too many times this season for him to think it won't happen again. Such as when he hit 8-of-14 3-pointers over the first two games. Or when he hit 5-of-8 at Chicago. Or when he hit 8-of-9 at Washington. Or 8-of-11 at Portland. Or 5-of-5 against the Raptors. Or 6-of-8 against Cleveland.

He's been watching Kyle Korver in Atlanta's series with Boston to look for new ways to get open when you're a target of the defense, and has been putting up endless shots after practice, more than he can count. That 18-for-18 effort on Sunday might be selling him short, because it might have been viewed after he had already hit a few.

He hit 37 percent of his 3-pointers during the regular season despite playing some games with a shoulder injury, which to his way of thinking means the law of averages could start working at any moment given his 1-of-11 start in this series.

"If I get a couple of clean looks, I know when it rains it pours," he said.

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