C.J. Miles had what was widely regarded as the best of all the Pacers' offseasons, a summer filled with lonely hours in the gym honing his craft. Then he made the biggest personal sacrifice of the Pacers' season, volunteering to play out of position in an attempt to find a workable formula for the small ball strategy.
His reward for all of this? He got beat up, injured, removed from the starting lineup and missed 16 games – which is the thank you get sometimes in life, although he doesn't dwell on the negatives.
Miles had a re-emergence of sorts in the Pacers' victory over New Orleans on Thursday, scoring 19 points in 26 minutes off the bench.