Miami Heat Playoffs: Max Strus Honing In On Playoff Defense

The Miami Heat are built on several things. They always work hard.

They will always be the grittiest team on the floor. They will always be among the most well-prepared teams in the NBA.

They will always be the most disciplined, studied up, and poised team on the floor—in most situations.

It’s just the way they operate. That’s the Miami Heat Culture.

Again though, one of the most important aspects of that culture is working hard.

It’s the mantra that has made their best player, Jimmy Butler, into the player he is, what propels him, and what continues to fuel everything he does on the floor for his team.

That certainly includes defense from a guy that’s probably currently the best two-way player in the game, top-three inarguably.

About Jimmy Butler’s hard work and defense though, it can be contagious and infectious if deployed and displayed the right way. And that certainly is the case for his Miami Heat.

You can just look around at the way he inspires the rest of his team.

Miami Heat Playoffs: Max Strus Honing In On Playoff Defense

In this particular instance, look no further than Jimmy’s infamous Middle Finger Bro, the one and only Max Strus.

Entering the starting lineup late in the year, after The Incident along the Miami Heat’s sidelines, Strus has proceeded to prove that it was the right move. Well, at least, it’s felt like that since he’s joined it.

Not only has his multipleness on the offensive side of the ball been a welcomed addition to the starting lineup, but he is beginning to show the types of defensive chops and instincts you want from a full-time Miami Heat starter.

Strus’s big thing has always been the off-ball defensive stuff, where he is tasked to monitor his assignment while also focusing, enough, on where the basketball is at that current time.

He has always been a decent on-ball defender though, whenever he is the man directly guarding the ball. However, now they are both improving.

One of the earlier examples was in a game against the Boston Celtics almost immediately after the, now infamous, sideline fracas and four-game losing streak, a team the Miami Heat had yet to beat at that point.

Max Strus proceeded to make one of the biggest plays of the game late in that one, defending a Jayson Tatum drive with great awareness and determination to make a play for his team.

Miami Heat: Max Strus Has A Chance To Be A Two-Way Guy On This Trajectory

One of his latest examples came in Tuesday night’s NBA Playoff Game 2 against the Atlanta Hawks. On two separate occasions, Strus did something that you need to see more of from a guy with his type of athletic pop and above-the-rim ability.

Check this out.

Getting into the opposing passing lanes and creating a deflection, on two noticeable occasions in the Miami Heat’s second playoff game of the postseason, Strus’s impact was just as felt on the defensive side of the ball as it was on the other side.

This is the stuff you love to see from a guy with Max’s offensive bag. You know the guy can shoot it.

You know the guy has more bounce and athleticism than he has had a chance to display thus far in his tenure with Miami. Lastly, you know that said athleticism should allow him to be a better defensive player and make plays on that side of the ball too, such as the aforementioned robberies in the passing lanes.

This is what you love to see from a guy that has catapulted himself into a starting role on a title contending team. It’s the next step in his development and you just love to see him take those steps.