Former Miami Heat sharpshooting fan favorite, Max Strus, is having a season to forget with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The worst part about it is that he's yet to log a minute this season for Cleveland.
Still out with an injury for at least another couple of weeks, there's not even going to be a guarantee that Strus will be able to seamlessly make his way back into rhythm for a struggling Cavs team.
Strus spent three seasons with the Heat from 2020-23 before signing an offseason deal with the Cavaliers a couple of summers ago. Considered a huge loss for the Heat, Strus did have a solid first two seasons in Cleveland.
Things have taken a turn for Max Strus this season
However, this has been a disastrous year for Strus. As he continues to recover from an offseason Jones fracture, Strus has missed the Cavs' first 44 games of the regular season. While Cleveland's struggles this season, at 24-20, don't only have to do with the loss of Strus, there's no question he would be a huge help to the team.
Even since leaving the Heat, Strus continues to be one of the better (and most consistent) 3-point shooters in the league. That's part of the reason why the Heat were unable to afford him when he hit free agency two years ago.
During his three seasons with the Heat, Strus averaged 37 percent shooting from 3-point range. In that stint with Miami, Strus quickly emerged as a rising perimeter role player in the league. He continued to play at that high level during the first two seasons in Cleveland, averaging 38 percent from deep last season.
Max Strus continues to fight against the injury bug
However, the injury bug has not been kind to Strus over the past two seasons, and it's completely thrown a wrench in his time with the Cavs.
Last season, Strus missed 32 regular-season games due to various injuries, and he's already missed 44 this year. That number is probably going to stretch into the 50's at this point for Strus' missed games.
There's a chance that Strus can return for the second half of the season and be everything that the Cavs need him to be. Maybe his return can even spark the Cavs up the Eastern Conference standings. However, there's also a chance that this pre-season injury completely nuked his year with the Cavs, too.
And, if that is the case, even Heat fans can't help but feel bad for the injuries that Strus has had to endure over the past calendar year.