We continue our 2016-2017 player reviews with CJ Miles and Lavoy Allen. If you’ve missed any of the previous reviews, you can find them here.

CJ Miles

Season per-game statistics: 10.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, 0.6 assists

Contract: Miles has a player option for 2017-18 that he will reportedly opt out of to become a free agent. He was making roughly $4.5 million and his next contract will be much more lucrative. Perhaps more than the Pacers can afford this offseason. In July 2014, the Pacers signed CJ to a 4-year deal after he played two seasons in Cleveland. This was his 12th year in the league after making the jump from high school.

The Good: Before the season started, Miles read a scouting report on himself that he’s only a shooter and made it a point to drive more and improve his weaknesses according to that report. But even with that emphasis, CJ still shot a career high from three (41.3%) and the Free-Throw line (90.3%). He was a valuable asset for the Pacers this season at the wing position be it off the bench or in the starting lineup as his numbers were nearly identical either way. When he did start however, he completed one of the best 5-man lineups in the league that outscored opponents by 7.7 points per 100 possessions.

This season did not have a repeat of last year’s problem of Miles guarding the power forward and getting beat up physically as he played in all but six games this season. But most importantly, outside Paul George, CJ was the player you wanted taking the three point shot and he lead the team in percentage this season.

Here is an example of what having a true threat from three does for your team.

The Bad: There’s not a ton of bad from CJ this season. He gave you what you expected and then some. Timely 3-point shooting that sometimes can come and go, but most of the time you could count on him to knock it down this season with that career high percentage. (Not counting that playoff Game 1….) Only major negative is that he most likely will move onto a new team next year. The Pacers will miss his shooting if they are unable to find a way to keep him. Other negatives have been issues his entire career but were mostly minimized this season: injuries weren’t an issue and his streakiness wasn’t nearly as pronounced as in the past. While his defense isn’t superb, he has shown the ability in the past to be a solid scheme defender.

He should have started more and perhaps been given the opportunity to play as the power forward with the bench more often but these are all coaching and roster construction issues rather than problems that Miles had. 

Lavoy Allen

Season per-game statistics: 2.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, 0.9 assists

Contract: Team option for 2017-18. The Pacers will have to decide whether or not they want to keep Allen at his cheap $3.5 million or add that amount to the team’s cap space. This was Allen’s sixth year in the league. The Pacers acquired Lavoy in February 2014 as part of the Danny Granger / Evan Turner trade.

The Good: Hustle and offensive rebounds come to mind. A player in the same mold as Pacer cult hero Jeff Foster, who prides himself on going after offensive rebounds. This season saw the return of Lavoy’s jump shot as well though only after a horrendous shooting slump to start the season that had him making only 18% of his midrange attempts about halfway through the year. Plenty of ‘no no no yes’ moments with his offensive game.

It was mostly fun to watch Lavoy have fun. He farted in a game while on the bench and his birthday hangout with Pacers sideline reporter Jeremiah Johnson at Tapper’s Barcade after he best game of the year with 18 points and 11 rebounds.

The Bad: Health and offensive game. Lavoy only played in 61 games this year either from injury or DNP-CD. But the biggest drawback to Lavoy’s game is his lack of offensive skill set. Teams know he isn’t looking to score and have no reason to fear a jump shot from Allen. And Lavoy around the rim (especially for a big guy) leaves a lot to be desired. 

Because of this, he often served as a space eater on offense that clogged the lanes, making it more difficult for drivers like Monta Ellis and Rodney Stuckey to do what they do best and Al Jefferson found it more difficult to score in the post without shooters surrounding him as well. When the Pacers tried to avoid the double-plodder lineups and paired Allen with Turner as much as possible (while Al Jefferson played more with Thad Young), it seemed to be more effective. While Allen did what he was best at, he was often a poor fit with the players around him like many players on this year’s version of the Pacers.

Stay tuned for the rest of the team to come.