Miles away from being ready?

The difference between talking to C.J. Miles before and after this game against the Indiana Pacers was remarkable.

He looked like a kid sprinting toward the ice-cream truck Friday morning after shootaround.

He looked like a kid who’d dropped his chocolate-covered cone in the gutter Friday night after his season debut.

Suffice it to say, Miles’ welcome-back party was crashed — kind of by himself, no less.

In his first game in nearly two months after thumb surgery, Miles badly missed his only three shots and was unable to find a groove or get into the flow of the game in 13 awkward minutes.

That created a dramatically different before and after situation.

Before: Miles was all smiles while saying, “It’ll be fun, a good night all-around” because his return coincided with the Jazz wearing green throwback jerseys.

After: The usually cheerful Miles couldn’t hide the disappointment in his demeanor as he slumped in his locker-room seat.

“I felt fine,” he said of his thumb. “Rhythm-wise, I’m lost out there.”

Coach Jerry Sloan pointed to Miles’ shape for causing his tough outing and said his small forward has “a lot of hard work” ahead of him to get back into playing shape.

“I’m sure he’s anxious and excited,” Sloan said. “But the number one thing in sports is to be in great condition to give yourself a chance to survive.”

Miles hasn’t had much time to practice, having gone through just two full sessions leading up to this game. So he thinks he’ll shake off the rust and jell with the team chemistry fairly soon.

“I got the jitters out,” Miles said, “and just a couple of games of playing will get me in the right places.”