CLEVELAND, Ohio — In this episode of the Wine and Gold Talk podcast, Ethan Sands and Chris Fedor discuss the impact of Max Strus on the Cavs’ success, focusing on expectations for the upcoming season.
Takeaways:
Max Strus is deeply committed to the Cleveland community.
Strus’s leadership and experience are vital for the team’s growth.
The Cavs are focused on winning a championship this season.
Team commitment is evident with most players attending workouts.
Strus’s performance can significantly impact the Cavs’ success.
Statistical analysis is crucial for understanding player contributions.
Consistency is key for Strus to elevate his game.
Improving shot quality and decision-making is essential for Strus.
The Cavs have high expectations for the upcoming season.
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Transcript
NOTE: This transcript was generated by artificial intelligence and could contain misspellings and errors.
Ethan Sands: What’s up Cavs Nation? I’m your host, Ethan Sands, and I’m back with another episode of the Wine and Gold Talk podcast. And joining me today, none other than Chris Fedor, cleveland.comcast beat reporter and last weekend we both got to attend Max Strus first camp in Cleveland, a part of his Max Strus foundation. And we got to experience what it was like for him to be in the community and get to service them. One, two. Obviously, he had an event last year, bowl in the land where he got to get his footsteps first planted when it comes to the community of Cleveland. But in it also showcased how he interacted with the children, how he interacted with the kids that were there, how he was trying to envelop them with the knowledge that he had obtained obviously over his long career of basketball. But it was more so about just allowing them to have fun, allowing them to have an experience that he didn’t have growing up as a basketball fanatic. What did you think about the event that for Max Tru’s camp and how it allowed the community to kind of get a different sense, a different vibe and a different perspective of Max Drus, the dog on the court. And of course, we will get into that a little bit later.
Chris Fedor: I think the big thing is Max feels comfortable here in Cleveland. He feels settled in here in Cleveland. This is his basketball home and this is his second home. And I think one of the reasons why the Cavs went out a couple of years ago and they brought in Max and we’ve talked about this so many different times, Ethan. When the Cavs make a trade for somebody, when they sign somebody in free agency, it’s not just a name on a contract, it’s not just a skill set. Obviously there are various things that the Cavs like about Max the player, but they had to be comfortable with the person and they had to believe that the person was going to be the right fit around this ascending team, that he was going to be the right influence around Darius Garland, he was going to be the right influence around Evan Mobley, his leadership, his toughness, his, his winning background, all of the things that he gained during his time with the Miami Heat, with the Heat culture. How was that going to blend in to what the Cavs were trying to build on their own? How was he going to fit with all of their most important components? And, and the thing that you can say about Max is that he’s fit great on the court. He brings a level of movement, spacing, cutting, gravity, three point shooting, multi positional, versatility, competitiveness on the defensive end of the floor. But behind the scenes, he’s a no nonsense guy. He’s somebody who’s willing to speak up when things aren’t going well. Um, he has become one of the primary voices in that locker room, one of the leaders in that locker room. And you just sense with Max a comfort within this organization, but a comfort within this community as well. And this is where he wants to be, and this is where his feet are right now. So if, if he’s going to hold these events and if he’s going to try and raise money for his foundation, I think it’s a big deal for somebody like Max that it’s not happening in Chicago. Chicago is his home. He loves Chicago. Chicago is where his family is. But for him to give back to this community, embrace this community and want to be a part of this community, I think it speaks volumes. He was also part of Darius’s celebrity softball game. And, you know, he was having a good time there. He was interacting with his teammates. And it just shows a different side of Max Strus, for sure. And it just shows how much he’s embraced Cleveland and how much he loves the Cleveland area.
Ethan Sands: Especially over this past summer. We’ve talked a lot about the person over the player. I think that’s a little bit about what you’re getting into, right? The person wanting to be in the city. Donovan Mitchell, a couple summers ago, claiming that he wanted to be in Cleveland was huge for the city, coming outright and saying that. But Max Schrouss is showing it in different ways. Obviously, Donovan Mitchell is going to have his camp in September as well in Cleveland, so he’ll be here as well. But Max Struve’s not necessarily a guy that’s going to come out and tell you exactly how he feels on every given basis. But him having a camp here, as you alluded to, Chris, is huge for the organization and for him. Especially when we talk about a guy that is coming up on two years left of his contract, and we talked.
Chris Fedor: About that throughout the summer, he went all out. Larry Inch Jr. Was there, Kenny Atkinson was there, Kobe Altman was there, Mike Gansey was there, other members of the organization, other members of the coaching staff, they were all there too. So all of these kids, not only did they get to interact with Max, which is a big deal, but they got to interact with Larry Nance Jr. And other members of the Cavs organization. So for him and the Cavs organization to get on board and want to be a part of it. It just shows the relationship that has been formed on both sides.
Ethan Sands: I think that’s a valid point. Exactly where I was going with it, because we talked a lot about how Larry Nance is also kind of trying to reestablish himself in the Cleveland community kind of quickly. And being a part of the different events is going to help that. Right. And we talked to Max Schruss about different people on part of the organization, especially with them being out in California over the last couple of weeks training together. One of the people, one of the players that was out there with them was Lonzo Ball. And getting to know how Max Stru, who has been vital to what the Cavs, has been able to accomplish and what the offense is going to look like in the coming seasons, seeing what he was talking about with Lonzo Ball was extremely eye opening. The tenacity, the hunger, the want to be here. Um, and also just understanding that, of course it was in California. That’s where Lonzo Ball is originally from. But just showing up is a big thing for Max Stru. And obviously, as you mentioned, Chris showing up to his events is another thing. Kenny Atkinson, Kobi Altman, Larry Nash Jr. And someone who he said was going to show up or was in the building, I don’t know if he actually ended up showing up. But Tyrese Proctor getting to learn from Max Drus, kind of the outside perspective of a player coming in from a Duke organization, something that is very well ran and having a perspective of, what does that kid look like? How is he developing in the system? And I asked him specifically about Tyrese Proctor, and he said, you could tell that he wanted to be here. You could tell that he was hungry. You could tell that he came from a good organization, had a great head on his shoulders, and was in the working stages of trying to figure out how he was going to fit into this organization. What did you learn or what stood out to you from our conversation with Max Stru last Saturday about what the players around him mean to him and also how they’re going to impact this Cavs team coming into this 2025, 2026 year?
Chris Fedor: Well, I think it speaks volumes, Ethan. A source told me that all but three members of the Cavs roster were were out in Los Angeles for what was a voluntary player le workout. And obviously it was more organized than that. And they had some help in putting together what they needed to put together so that everybody could be on the same page and they could do things in a productive way. But. But for all but three Three players on this roster to be out there. I think that speaks volumes to the commitment level of this team and I think it speaks volumes to the mentality that this team has coming into this year. By the way, one of the players that wasn’t there, I can tell you, did draw some eye rolls from people that I talked to. But it does show the commitment and it shows where their mindset is and it shows just how invested they are in bringing a championship to Cleveland and how invested they are in proving that they’re better than the team that bowed out in the second round of the playoffs against the Indiana Pacers and trying to show and do everything that it takes behind the scenes, whether it’s from an individual standpoint, whether it’s from a team standpoint. They’re trying to do everything that they can do in their own control to be the best team in the Eastern Conference and get to the NBA Finals and win a championship. And as Max said when we talked to him over the weekend, he feels like a championship is on the horizon. And you know, a lot of guys are going to say that right now. And, and I think if you ask Donovan Mitchell, he would say the same thing. And Darius Garland, same thing. And Evan Mobley, same thing. And, and it’s true. You know, people around the NBA expect big things from the Cavs. Odds makers expect big things from the Cavs. They are one of the betting favorites for a reason. They won 64 games last year. They had three All Stars. They had two members of the All NBA team. So there’s a bunch of talent and there’s a bunch of uncertainty when it comes to the Eastern Conference overall. So it’s not a surprise to hear Max Stru say, hey, championship is on the horizon. You know, when the Cavs have their media day at the end of September, all of the guys are going to say it’s about winning a championship. And we believe we have the right components here to win a championship. They should think that way. I don’t think they’re wrong in thinking that way, but it hits differently when it comes from Max. Just like it hit different when you were talking about Tristan Thompson saying things, you know what I mean? Like we can have all these conversations about how far Darius Garland has gone in his career and Evan Mobley and Donovan Mitchell has never gotten past the second round. Max Strus has played in the NBA Finals. Max Strus knows what a championship level team looks like. He knows what a championship level team feels like. He knows the habits of a championship level team. He knows the commitment level of a championship level team. He knows everything that these guys, many of these guys in the locker room are still trying to learn. So when Max says it, and Max is a no nonsense guy and he just doesn’t say things for clicks or headlines like he’ll shoot it to you straight. I’ve talked about this on many different occasions. You know, Max’s first game was with the Cavs. He was pissed off about the way that they played and I was like, hey man, there’s 80, 81 more of these things. Like it’s all right. And he was like, no, there’s a standard that we have to set here. So that’s how he is, that’s how he carries himself. And if he didn’t believe that this team was ready to compete for a championship, he’d say it. But I think when you have somebody like Max who has experienced all the things that he has experienced and he has competed at the highest level for an NBA championship, to have him say it, it just resonates a little bit differently than if it was coming from Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, Donovan Mitchell or somebody like that.
Ethan Sands: And just to quote Max Stru from his mini press conference that he had, and Chris, this came directly after your question asking what is he most looking forward to when it comes to the season. And he said winning, right? And simply put, getting the guys back together and doing what we do best and putting our best foot forward and making it further than we did last year and championship is still on the horizon for us and that’s where we all have our mindset. So of course as you mentioned, Chris, the on the horizon point is key. But also you can tell that all of our mindsets being on one thing. You could see a couple guys potentially giving some eye rolls for not being at the pre training camp, player led stuff because it means a lot for this team. Everybody feels like everybody should have been feeling the same way after last year, that they are not satisfied, that they want to be better, that they want that they have more to prove, that they should have been to the NBA final, that they should have been to the Eastern Conference finals. And also the understanding that this year is significant for multiple players.
Chris Fedor: I mean Ethan, it is significant for this organization. I was talking to somebody over the weekend about this and it’s only August, so I don’t want this to be inflamed on social media or anything along those lines. And there’s a lot of games that that have to be played. But, but the truth is Like, I think everybody knows what’s at stake coming into this season and I think everybody understands the expectations. And with those expectations comes pressure. Right. If things don’t go well for this team again this year, if they don’t get out of the second round, like changes are coming for all the things that we can say about a championship is on the horizon. Yeah, change would be on the horizon as well. Because when you have built the team that the Cavs have built and when they have put their faith in this core group and they’ve spent the way that they have spent second apron deep into the luxury tax, making all the moves that they feel like are necessary for them to compete for a championship. If that doesn’t happen again and it’s another disappointing ending to the season again, I’m not saying that it’s going to be and I’m not trying to predict the future here. All I’m saying is on the heels of what you were talking about there, that’s why the commitment level is what it’s been throughout the course of this off season. That’s where the motivation is coming from with all these guys in this organization because there is a new standard that they have set for themselves. And president of basketball operations Kobe Altman talked about it during his end of season wrap up. He said, this is the place that we want to be. It can be uncomfortable, the spotlight is shining on us, but we want to be in this place. Forget the ping pong balls, forget the lottery picks, forget all that kind of stuff. This is the space where we want to live, where people are expecting greatness from us, where people are expecting big things from us and we’re expecting that from ourselves as well. So if you pay the kind of bill that Dan Gilbert’s going to pay, if you’re going to have these high priced guys, it cannot be another second round exit. And if it is another second round exit, change is coming to this organization. It’s not going to be a coach that goes this time. That’s where you would see like there’s been a lot of things that Kobe Altman has talked about patience. You have to be smart about these decisions. Even Kenny Atkinson told me in my one on one with him at Darius, a celebrity softball game. There is a danger in looking at failure and saying, oh, we got to do this differently. Oh we got to change this within our offense or we got to change this when it comes to our roster. They could say that coming off of last year and they can still say that going into this year. But if. If it goes the wrong way, if the end result is not what the Cavs ultimately want it, if it’s another flameout, an early exit change will come in the form of personnel.
Ethan Sands: Yeah, and I think that’s well said, because as I was kind of getting into, the players understand what’s coming, but also understanding that, like, how delicate their situations are individually. Right? And obviously this is a team sport and you’re going to have to operate as a team to have success. But individually, some players only get one opportunity for a big cash out, and this is that. Right. Like Sam Merrill, who just got arguably the biggest cash out that he could have gotten in his career after being the last draft pick in a draft class, right now, you have this opportunity to showcase why you got that contract, why you’re here, why you can make an impact. And Max Trist has been one of those guys, too, who has fought and clawed and tried to do everything possible, not only while being with the Cleveland Cavaliers, but in Miami when working out with Boston, like showcasing why he matters in the NBA, why he belongs. So, Chris, my next question for you then is how important? Because we obviously talk about the core four, DeAndre Hunter, some other pieces. How important is Max Stru going to be in your eyes for this team to get where they want to go?
Chris Fedor: Look, he’s critical in the sense of beyond the core four guys, when we have these kinds of conversations, we’re going to start there. We’re going to start with Darius, we’re going to start with Evan Mobley. They make more money, they have more of a responsibility, they have more pressure, more expectation, all that kind of stuff, Right? But Max was the guy that the Cavs brought in a couple of years ago to bring it all together in their starting lineup, and he has. And I think when you look at the kind of way that the Cavs want to play, especially on the offensive end of the floor, Kenny Atkinson has always had a player with the skill set of Max Strus. I’m not comparing talent to talent here, but from a skill set perspective, that is the thing that often brings Kenny Atkinson’s offense together and allows it to reach a different kind of ceiling. That cutting, that movement, that flow, that rhythm, that floor spacing, that three point shooting. So Max is also important from the standpoint of I do believe he’s going to be the starting small forward again. I do believe that the Cavs like him in that particular role. And I know people get so annoyed when I bring up all these stats. And last time I Wrote about this for hey, Chris, on the website, people were like, stop bringing up the stats. That’s what the team is going to use to justify it. Well, yeah, those things matter. I mean, that’s what’s informing their decision making. It’s not the only thing that’s informing their decision making, but it helps. And when you have numbers that say the Cavs as an offense with Max Streuss on the floor have a rating of 1.20.1, you don’t just ignore that that is astronomically good in today’s NBA. And then if they have a defensive rating that is competent enough and it’s a positive in the net rating, like it’s something that they’re still going to believe in, they’re going to use the data to try and inform whatever decision it is that they’re going to make with their lineups, with their combinations, with their starters, with their closers, all those different things. And everything says that the Cavs are a better offense with Max Struse on the floor. And everything says that they’re a better basketball team with Max Struse on the floor. So for all of his flaws, all of his shortcomings, all of the thought of him being the starting small forward makes the Cavs smaller. That’s true. They’re undersized at point guard, they’re undersized at the 2, they’re undersized at the 3. It’s something that they have to work around. But if he’s going to give them offensively what he does consistently and the numbers are going to point to that kind of impact, then it’s going to be hard for the Cavs to say we could do better or we should think differently about who makes up that. That last spot in the starting lineup. So I. I do think he’s important, especially if he’s going to play, you know, 25 to 28 minutes a night, especially if he’s going to play a key role in terms of the position that he’s going to play for this team, if you’re talking about a starter, quality wing, and all of the matchups that, that Max is going to have to deal with being, Being that kind of player for them, being in that particular role, that’s a big deal. And the kind of impact that. That he can make on this team, I just think Ethan, he. He raises their ceiling to a different level offensively, and I think there’s a huge importance to that given the way that they want to play on that end of the floor.
Ethan Sands: So, Chris, let me. Let me start by saying I agree with you when it comes to play style and we’ve had this conversation throughout this entire summer. I’ve come a long way when it comes to the conversation between max Strus and DeAndre Hunter because of what Kenny Atkinson needs in the starting lineup to move the ball, especially with two ball dominant guards and one non shooting big. I don’t even feel comfortable calling Evan Mobley a non shooting big and based on his performance last year and the work that we’ve seen him put in. But I am going to play devil’s advocate because that is my role as the host of this show. When looking at numbers, when looking at for people and fans that are like, oh, I want to play the small sample size game because that’s what it is when it comes to DeAndre Hunter DeAndre Hunter played 27 games with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the regular season. Again, small sample size. But Max Struz, after missing the first 27 games on the season, I believe played just 50 games with the Cleveland Cavaliers. DeAndre Hunter’s net rating by the end of the season 9.6 after having a 122.6 offensive rating and 113 defensive rating. Max Strutz had a net rating of 7.9 after having an offensive rating, as you mentioned, 120.1 and a defensive rating of 112.2. So of course that’s regular season stats. So let’s move over to the playoffs just to make sure we have all of our bases crossed. Again, Max Strus played in all nine of the Cavs playoff games. DeAndre Hunter played in eight due to his dislocated thumb injury that he suffered in the Indiana pacers series. But DeAndre Hunter threw eight games, averaged 23.2 minutes per game, and had a net rating of 15.7 per 100 possessions. Let me clarify that. Per 100 possessions in the playoffs with an offensive rating of 123.5 and a defensive rating of 107.8. Again, Max Sch played in all nine of the playoff games. He averaged 28.1 minutes per game in the playoffs he had a net rating of 11.8, an offensive rating of 123.7 and a defensive rating of 111.9. Obviously Chris, you’ve talked about the stats. You are the stats guru when it comes to this podcast while discussing these numbers. And obviously the sample size comes in play for the regular season. Not much for the playoffs other than if you want to discuss for minutes per game. Why do you think still that Max Strus will make a better impact or a bigger impact stylistically or statistically for the Cleveland Cavaliers when it comes time for this team to get down to the nitty gritty?
Chris Fedor: I don’t know that he will. I think Max Struth will have a great impact on the success and the failure of the Cavs. And I think DeAndre Hunter will have a great impact on the success and the failure of the Cavs. I think both those guys are very, very important in what the Cavs are going to ask of them throughout the course of the year. And the beauty of basketball is that you don’t have to have the same five players out there for all four 48 minutes in the game. You can mix and match, you can try different lineups, you can try different combinations. But I think stylistically Max makes more sense based on the other personnel that he could potentially share the floor with. That being Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Jared Allen. I just think the skill set that Max has, the movement that Max springs, the cutting that Max brings, the floor spacing that Max brings, the fact that he doesn’t need to have the ball in his hands to be as effective, the fact that he can run some two man stuff with Evan Mobley or two man stuff with Jared Allen, I just think it, it introduces a more unique dimension to the offense in that particular five man grouping than, than DeAndre Hunter does. DeAndre Hunter is effective in other ways. DeAndre Hunter scores the ball in other ways. DeAndre Hunter brings a different element offensively and I think that element that he brings offensively is best utilized coming off the bench in the same role that he had in Atlanta when he was in the middle of a career year before the Cavs traded for. And I think that’s fine. There are a lot of great players, players in NBA history that have been primarily six men. There are a lot of teams in the NBA, Ethan, that, that don’t start their five best players or their five most important players. You trying to tell me that Alex Caruso is not a starter quality player? Of course he is trying to tell me that Alex Caruso is not vital to the success of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Of course he is. He started what, three games came off the bench throughout the course of the playoffs because they felt like that particular role was better suited to Alex Caruso and they felt like the other components that they had that could start for them made more sense in that particular role. So I think it’s fine to have both DeAndre Hunter and Max Struse on this roster. And I don’t think there’s any kind of conflict here. I don’t think there’s any reason to say we’ve got to choose one or the other. There might be times where both of those guys play together. DeAndre plays the four and Max plays the three. Who knows? I think they’re both very, very important. I think they’re both very, very impactful. But I think when you have a starting five that you have seen work at a high level for an extended stretch, and when the five man lineup of Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Max Stru, Jared Allen and Evan Mobley outscores opponents by 12.5 points per 100 possessions in nearly 250 regular season minutes, you didn’t just say like, okay, let’s change that because it’s broken. I think you have to see something with, with those five players together that would be flawed, that would be problematic, that would make you feel like a change is required or a change would be better for, for this team. And, and I just haven’t seen anything like that. And, and just because something may be in October doesn’t mean that it would stay that way in December or it would be that way in March, or it would even be that way in every single playoff series that the Cavs play against. The beauty of this roster, I think, and the way that the Cavs have tried to construct this thing is so that Kenny Atkinson has a bunch of different options. They have a bunch of different starter, quality players. They have a versatile lineup, they have versatile rotations, they have multi dimensional players, they have multi positional players. And when, when you’re putting together a roster like this that is so pricey, that is into the second apron, there are going to be guys who deserve to be a starter that aren’t going to start. And that’s part of the sacrifice that comes with being on this kind of team. And I think it’s about fit. I think when you make these kinds of decisions and you’re Kenny Atkinson, you’re trying to figure out what fits the best. And I’m just a believer that Max Struse and the style of play that he brings to this team fits better alongside the Core 4 than DeAndre does. If you’re talking about a large sample.
Ethan Sands: Let, let me say this also, especially because we’ve talked so much about the 82 game season being up for grabs. Let’s, let’s put it that way, right? And not that it doesn’t matter. But the Cleveland Cavaliers are looking at the number one seed and saying that’s what we want to get and then also looking at the playoffs and saying that’s what we care about. So I pulled up some lineup data when it came to these five man lineups between DeAndre Hunter with the core four and Max Strus with the core four in the playoffs and I was shocked, Chris, to tell you the least about these different lineups and how they fared. Donovan Mitchell, Jared Allen, Max Struus, Darius Garland and Evan Mobley. They had an offensive rating of 112 and a defensive rating of 116.8 for a net rating of negative 4.8. Then you look at DeAndre Hunter as part of the Core Four with Donovan Mitchell, Jared Allen, Darius Garland and Evan Mobley. They had an offensive rating of 58.3 and a defensive rating of 100 for a net rating of, you guessed it, negative 41.7. Not good at all for either standard of both of these crucial players. What my overarching perspective of this has become is that both of them need to play better in the playoffs and the players around them need to play better also. I find this to be slightly unfair to Max Shrooz and DeAndre Hunter because Darius Garland wasn’t at 100%, DeAndre Hunter wasn’t at 100% right when we had these conversations. Donovan Mitchell wasn’t at 100%, Evan Mobley wasn’t at 100%. So I think that’s why it’s so critical for fans to kind of look at these stats but take it with a grain of salt because there are so many stipulations, there are so many things behind the scenes that either you knew about and aren’t processing when you’re thinking about these things, or you simply are ignoring the fact that those injuries take into account how these players were going to have success or not in the playoffs specifically, and especially against one of the fastest paced offense in NBA history against the Indiana Pacers. And obviously we talked about it at length, the Miami Heat, who were not last year a competent playoff team.
Chris Fedor: I’ve always been a believer, Ethan, that that stats tell a story. They don’t tell the story and you have to provide context to that, you have to provide perspective to that. But they certainly inform decision making and we know that the Cavs, not that it’s the end all be all, but we know that the Cavs are an analytic driven organization and they do use these stats. And Kenny Atkinson asks members of the front office to Gather these particular stats so that he can use them to try and make these decisions. We do know that for sure, a thousand percent.
Ethan Sands: And the other part of this that I found really interesting when we talk about how Kenny Atkinson needs to find a way to utilize Deandra Anthony. We’ve had this conversation in the past is the core four with Max Strus in the playoffs played 60 minutes together over five games. Over the two games that they played together with the core four and DeAndre Hunter, they played just six minutes together. That’s again an extremely small sample size to go off of. So this is me again telling fans that if you’re saying don’t purely go off the stats, you’re right. But also you have to take them into account in some capacity when you’re making these astute observation. The other portion of this is Max Strus is one of the most reliable players for the Cleveland Cavaliers up until last preseason when he got injured and then again when he was training to get back and injure his right ankle. That’s the most significant injury that Max Strust has endured and not been on the basketball court for. When it comes to being on the Cleveland Cavaliers, I think that is telling for how Kenny Atkinson trusts Max to be available. What’s that quote, Chris?
Chris Fedor: The best ability is availability.
Ethan Sands: There you go. That best ability is availability.
Chris Fedor: I think we can have an honest conversation about Max and we can say that he’s not a $30 million player. You know what I mean? Like, could they theoretically do better at the wing spot than Max?
Ethan Sands: Of course.
Chris Fedor: Like, there’s a reason why he’s making $15 million instead of $30 million because there are flaws. Because maybe he is a little bit undersized. Would you prefer him to be 6, 8? Yes. Would you prefer him to shoot 40% from 3 point range as opposed to 37? Yes. But based on everything else that they have, Max is, is what they have at, at small forward, him and DeAndre, and that’s what it is. And it’s up to Kenny Atkinson to try and find a way to mask some of those Max flaws. And it’s also up to Kenny Atkinson to continue to find a way to accentuate Max’s strengths. And there are plenty of those. For all of the flaws that we have talked about that, that have prevented teams from paying him $30 million a year for, for all of those things, like for this team, for their style of play, he’s a really, really good fit. And I think Donovan Mitchell values playing alongside Max in a great way. I Think Evan Mobley values playing alongside Max in a great way because of the two man game that they can run and stuff like that. So he is an asset to this team. And if they did not have him, I don’t think that they could be the same prolific offense that they prove themselves to be. Last year he was a component of that. Whether it showed up in the box score every single night or not, whether the, the, the counting numbers pointed to that or not. He makes an impact on the floor. And that’s, that’s what you’re looking for out of somebody like Max. It’s, it’s not always about production, it’s about impact. And I think his impact is, is felt on a nightly basis. And I think the Cavs, you know, given everything else that they have on this roster, um, there, there aren’t a lot of ways that they could do better than Max Strus based on some of the financial restrictions that they have with this roster.
Ethan Sands: So, Chris, I’m going to ask you this as the final question for me on this podcast. What is your expectation for Max Stru and what do you think he needs to improve on or get to for this Cavs team to get past the Eastern Conference semifinals, into the Eastern Conference finals and NBA Finals? As we know, that is the ultimate goal for this roster. And as Chris, as you mentioned, him being the starting small forward for this.
Chris Fedor: Team, I think he needs to continue to be more of the guy that he was last year as opposed to his first year in Cleveland. 38% from 3 point range versus 35%. That’s a big deal. Um, he, he is a streaky player by nature, but if he can continue to be a reliable and effective outside shooter, three point shooter, he can be one of the more prolific ones that the Cavs have on this roster. Given the kinds of shots that he takes, the degree of difficulty on some of the shots that he takes, I think that’s all they need from him and I think that would be good enough. Can he be a little bit better defensively? Can he handle some of the matchups that, that he’s going to see on a nightly basis? A little bit better? Can he find a way to improve how impactful he is at that end of the floor? That’s where I think there’s some improvements that he can make. The other thing is rebounding. I think that’s a big deal, especially at his position. If he’s going to be, quote unquote, undersized and he’s going to be battling with some of the top small forwards in the Eastern Conference and across the NBA. He’s going to have to one guard his position, but he’s going to have to be a big component when it comes to the Cavs rebounding because we know know Darius Garland’s not going to go in there and get a bunch of rebounds. So it can’t just be Evan Mobley and Jared Allen. If, if he’s going to be part of that front court, he’s going to have to rebound at a high level as well. So to me, you know, a big component of this is, is consistency and not having those, those big time peaks and valleys that he did in his first year in Cleveland. And if he can be more consistent and less of a streaky outside shooter the way that he was for a majority of last year, I think that is a good enough version for the Cavs when it comes to Max.
Ethan Sands: For me, Chris, I think it’s absolutely consistency, of course, because as I’ve mentioned on this podcast before, it felt like sometimes Max sures will go for 12 points in the first quarter and then we won’t see him again until a first quarter barrage. Right. And I think you, you need those middle grounds to be able to hold up the fort, obviously, especially in the playoffs. But for me it’s the two man game that you had mentioned being able to improve his passing, but also in, in part with that is the ball handling, being able to get Donovan Mitchell off the ball, setting screens either 90ft or whatever and having the ability to for Donovan Mitchell or Darius Garron to pass him the ball and feel comfortable with him bringing the ball at the floor is going to be extremely helpful for this offense as well because we know especially in the playoffs one of the things that the Cavs have faced is full court pressure and how that has been an exploiting point of their game. Max Struz has a lot of things going for him, as we mentioned on this podcast, at length, but there are areas of his game but where I feel like if he can make slight improvements, passing, ball handling, and obviously consistency from beyond the arc, those are the areas where, if he can get those to where he has been in the past or just to a consistent level, I feel like that’s the buzzword for Max Ruth that will be extremely helpful, especially alongside this version of the core four and for their sake keeping them together and pushing forward.
Chris Fedor: I would also say shot quality. Shot quality is interesting when it comes to Max too because I know he’s going to take some difficult ones he’s going to take some where he’s coming off his screens or where he’s fading away from the basket because he’s trying to get the shot off so quickly or he’s taking some quick ones in transition. A lot of his stuff comes on the move. It’s very rare that Max is just going to be sitting in the corner, camped out, catch and shoot, nobody else around him because he does draw defenders away from other guys and to him because he has that reputation because you don’t want to leave him open because he is a volume 3 point shooter with that kind of reputation. But, but I think if he can eliminate some of the more purport flexing shots that sometimes he takes and just understand on this team you’re not on Miami anymore where you’re just like struggling for consistent offense, you know what I’m saying? Like the Cavs, there’s enough firepower, you believe on this team it might take a little step back because they don’t have Ty Jerome. That remains to be seen. They’re probably not going to have Darius for a good stretch of, of the first, first part of, of the, the opening schedule. So it’s something they’re going to have to work around. But, but I just don’t think they have to work as hard as, as some of Max’s teams in the past did for consistent quality offense. So just understand that. And if that means, you know, getting a pass coming off of a screen and then getting it to somebody else as opposed to taking that shot, like, look, he is here to shoot these shots. He’s here to make these threes space the floor, move around the floor, cut and stuff like that. So he’s going to have somewhere he’s coming off these screens and he’s fading away from the basket or he’s not totally set when he gets the ball and he’s going to have to take those and he’s going to be a volume shooter. But, but there are some throughout the course of a season and throughout a stretch of a week or two weeks or something like that where he can understand shot quality probably needs to increase a little bit. And if that means I give up a little bit of volume or if that means that my three point attempts go from six to five and a half or six to five or something like that, if the quality ones, I continue to focus on those more than just a high volume of them, I think that could be beneficial for, for Max and his numbers, obviously, and for the Cavs as well. So I think Shot quality and really understanding, working for a great shot is, is probably something that I’d like to see a little bit more on a consistent basis from max 2 this coming year.
Ethan Sands: Maybe take a page out of Evan Mobley’s book, try and be a little bit too perfect to start the season. See how that helps you out. See what that does to your game and what that does to the flow of the offense. Because obviously, as we know, there are players that cannot afford to look for the best shot. Just a good shot will do it. But Max Strus is one of those players that is in an offense where you aren’t the first, second, third, you’re the fourth option depending on the offensive scheme, maybe in fifth option depending on the offensive scheme. So I think him taking a bad shot is a lot worse than Evan Mobley taking an okay shot or even a bad shot.
Chris Fedor: So unless I turn into Isaac Kokoro and start passing up some open threes and stuff like that, but if you’re flying around a screen and you don’t have like your feet underneath you and stuff like that, you can get the ball to somebody else and you can trigger something else within your offense.
Ethan Sands: That’s what I’m saying a thousand percent. Especially because his gravity does majority of the work for him. His speed and his, his ability to get around an offense helps him do that. So just touching the ball, even a pump fake, could even trigger some other things in the defense to make them scatter. So I think that’s definitely something for them to take an eye on. So I definitely like that, Chris. The shot quality and the shot control, of course. But with all that being said, that’ll wrap up today’s episode of the Wine and Gold Talk podcast. But remember to become a Cavs insider and interact with Chris, me and Jimmy by subscribing to Subtext. Let us know how you think Max Struz is going to impact this Cavs team and if you think he’s suited to play small forward in today’s NBA. But the only way you can do that is signing up for a 14 day free trial or visiting cleveland.com Cavs and clicking on the blue bar at the top of the page. If you don’t like it, that’s fine. All you have to do is text the word stop. It’s easy, but we can tell you that the people who sign up stick around because this is the best way to get insider coverage on the Cavs from me, Chris and Jimmy. This isn’t just our podcast, it’s your podcast, and the only way to have your voice heard is through some text. Y’ all be safe. We out.
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