Max Strus was brought in to help a Cleveland Cavaliers team that fell in the previous playoffs due to their lack of shooting. His previous two regular seasons with the Miami Heat pointed to him being capable of doing so, but that success didn’t carry over to his most recent postseason run.

Strus’s first season in Cleveland was a mixed bag. Like most outside shooters, Strus’s success was determined by whether the shot was falling. Strus had his ups and downs. However, because he was touted as the player to solve the Cavaliers’ offensive woes from three, his poor shooting games stood out more than what was likely fair to him.

The Cavaliers have very few well-rounded role players on their roster. If the players had attribute charts similar to a video game, they would each have one skill to which all their points would go towards. Strus breaks the mold of role players on the team as he has multiple distinguishable traits when his shot isn’t falling. Rebounding and playmaking were two that stood out.

Strus was a respectable rebounder rating in the top quarter of players in the league in that department. He was also constantly looking to get others involved offensively, especially Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. Strus was known for his two-man game with Bam Adebayo during his time with the Heat. While it never got to the level those two displayed, it was enough to keep defenses honest. Most of the other role players need to be spoon-fed opportunities from Darius Garland or Donovan Mitchell. Strus showed that he could also create for himself and others independently.

It cannot be understated the lack of true wing options the Cavaliers had defensively. Strus on most nights had to play outside of his comfort zone on that end being forced to guard the opponent’s best wing. The energy expended on a night-to-night basis by Strus to be a movement-based shooter, while also having to chase around wings on most possessions, wasn’t a task he’d been asked to perform in Miami around a more balanced roster.

That said, Strus was brought in to be the team’s three-point specialist and he struggled in that department in the playoffs. Despite shooting 40% from three in May (16-40), Strus connected on just 34.7% of his threes and 40.8% of his attempts from the field. Fans were hoping to see the version of Strus burned in the back of their minds from Miami’s 2023 series against the Boston Celtics. Instead, they got a worse version than they did in the regular season.

The Cavs were plagued by poor shooting and injuries in the postseason. The Cavaliers only hit the 100-point threshold four times in 12 tries. This doesn’t point to Strus as the pain point, however, it felt like at times if Strus got it going it could be enough to swing a single game. The Cavaliers would’ve looked like a more threatening offense if the Strus from Miami’s postseason run showed up at all.

The value Struss brings to the Cavaliers roster is undeniable even though the shooting was more inconsistent than you’d like. The Cavs need more players like Strus despite not necessarily excelling in the skill he was brought in to excel in. If he can return to the guy he was in Miami, then he would be even more valuable for the team. It’s tough to point to a non-star player to change the entire identity of an offense. Strus was the victim of being the face of an offensive facelift that never really came to fruition.