Max Strus wasted no time making his presence felt on the floor for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
How Max Strus looked and played in his season debut was anyone’s guess. The Cleveland Cavaliers haven’t played in an NBA game in almost a full calendar year, and were coming off ankle surgery, which caused him to miss the first three quarters of the season.
Finally, after 67 games, Strus made his season debut on Sunday in Cleveland’s matchup against the Dallas Mavericks, and he made an immediate impact for the Wine and Gold.
Head coach Kenny Atkinson said before the game that Strus would be on a 20-minute restriction; he ended up playing just under 23 minutes and made every single one of them count.
Strus knocked down two three-pointers in just over a minute after checking into the game, and he didn’t stop there. By the time the game was over, Strus scored 24 points, while shooting 77 percent (seven for nine) from the floor and 85 percent (six for seven) from behind the arc.
Atkinson called it a “pretty amazing performance,” considering how long Strus has been out for.
“Maybe the best I've seen, with that period of absence, and then to come in an NBA game, and have that performance. It was great,” continued Cleveland’s head coach.
“I loved the crowd. That was a really great moment, him coming in, him giving a great [ovation],, and then hitting the first couple threes. So that's a shining light in not not a great day for us.”
It wasn’t just Strus’ offense that stood out in his season debut; he also grabbed eight rebounds, three of those being on the offensive end.
Rebounding and getting second-chance opportunities have been a hit-or-miss issue for the Cavaliers all season. So, having Strus back in the fold, who has a career average of 3.4 rebounds a game, will certainly help during the rest of the regular season and into the playoffs as well.
Overall, Sturs had an even plus-minus of zero, which was actually the best on the Cavaliers in what was largely a disappointing game for the Wine and Gold.
From here, Atkinson has the difficult task of figuring out how all of the pieces fit together before the playoffs. Strus proved in a very short sample size that he’s still the player that he was before the injury, which will be a massive boost for Cleveland as they prepare for the playoffs.
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