Back in late August, Cleveland Cavaliers forward Max Strus underwent surgery on a Jones fracture in his left foot, and as a result, he has yet to step on the court for his team this season.
But on the bright side, Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson said recently that the sharpshooter is progressing “well” in his recovery and has dealt with “no setbacks.” It’s worth noting that Strus’ initial recovery timetable was anywhere between three and four months, and he’s more than two months removed from getting surgery.
“He’s on the court shooting, so that’s good,” Atkinson said. “Still no contact yet, but he is doing on court work, progressing well. No setbacks.”
Strus has averaged 11.0 points while shooting 36.4 percent from 3-point range to go along with 4.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game across 120 regular-season appearances (107 starts) with the Cavaliers thus far. While he’s always had a knack for shooting the ball from deep, he’s really upped his game as both a facilitator and rebounder since joining the Cavs and is a far more well-rounded player than he once was.
Forward De’Andre Hunter has been Cleveland’s starting small forward in the lion’s share of the team’s games so far this season with Strus on the shelf, and he’s been a mixed bag. He started the season off in quite a rough shooting slump, but maybe he’s out of that slump for good now with the scoring performance he just put together. Against the Chicago Bulls on Nov. 8, he dropped a whopping 29 points while shooting 10-of-16 from the field and knocking down half of his eight 3s attempted.
It’s reasonable to question whether Strus will still be a starter for the Cavaliers once he’s healthy enough to make his return to the lineup. But at the same time, he has the skill set to give Cleveland’s offensive attack a major boost regardless of whether he’s in the opening lineup or coming off the pine. His knack for hitting 3s will only add a layer of lethality to an offense that already is raining down 3s on opposing teams without him.
Here’s hoping that Strus will make his season debut with the Cavaliers within the next month.