Miami Heat shooting guard Max Strus scored 20 points against the Toronto Raptors, officially passing the 1,000-point mark in his career. Head coach Erik Spoelstra spoke about Strus’ last performance, as well as his versatility as a player.
“Max can play with any lineup,” Spoelstra said. “He has that kind of versatility. He can play as a spacer, but he can also play the second unit and be more of a trigger. He is shifting playing with both lineups, and that’s probably the best of all worlds. [His game is] becoming much more complete. You saw it defensively tonight. He guarded one through five against a really challenging team.”
Strus, who went undrafted out of the 2019 NBA Draft, is entering his third season in the NBA.
His breakout campaign last season granted him a starting position in the lineup during the playoffs. Strus averaged 10.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists, leading the team in 3-pointers attempted and made. With Duncan Robinson out of the lineup most nights, Strus served as the primary shooter from beyond the arc.
The Heat shooting guard even received praise from Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young, who said that Strus should receive a contract extension. Young tweeted this during Game 3 of the Eastern conference finals.
“Stress about getting paid,” Young said. “Jumper cash!”
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Strus will look to build on this accomplishment as the season progresses.
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Jayden Armant is a contributor to Inside the Heat. He is a student at Howard University. He can be reached at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.
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