A Surplus of Guards

Max Strus was a consistent starter for the Cavaliers last season. He played most of his minutes as the shooting guard or small forward, and since Cleveland has added so many quality players at those positions this year, it seems like somebody will have to get knocked out of the rotation. Strus will be competing with guys like Sam Merrill, Keon Ellis, and Dennis Schröder off the bench as guards, as well as Dean Wade and Jaylon Tyson at small forward. It just won’t be possible for Kenny Atkinson to find consistent playing time for all of these guys unless he starts running some extremely small lineups with three guards on the floor together.

Merrill is clearly the Cavaliers' best shooter, as he’s sitting at an insane 46% from three this season. Schröder is a good secondary ball handler for the team off the bench, and Ellis, Wade, and Tyson are the best perimeter defenders on the team. With how all of these guys have played, it seems like Strus may be the odd man out unless one of those guys begins to struggle.

Team Shooting Gets Even Better

The Cavaliers are a top-10 three-point shooting team in the NBA, and Max Strus will definitely help strengthen this team’s shooting even more. Strus shot 39% from three last season, so adding him into the mix with Merrill and Tyson, who are both top three in the league in three-point percentage, gives the Cavaliers a ridiculous amount of shooting from their role players. The surplus of guards available to play also becomes a blessing for the shooting because if one guy is in a slump, there’s plenty of other guys available that can contribute. All of these players have their strengths and weaknesses, so I would assume their playtime in the playoffs will be very fluid based on who is playing the best, or who matches up best with their opponent.

Getting Healthy at the Right Time

Having extra talent available to play is an excellent problem to have, and as the Cavaliers finally begin to get healthy down the stretch, there may be some growing pains when it comes to the rotations for Kenny Atkinson. Despite that, the team is finally getting to full strength at the right time. Donovan Mitchell returned against the Celtics, James Harden has not had a drop in play since he suffered the fracture in his thumb, and Jarrett Allen isn’t expected to miss much more time.

Strus is the final piece that this Cavaliers roster has been waiting for, and while I don’t expect him to reclaim the starting small forward position that he held last year, he should be able to be a key contributor down the stretch whenever he is called upon.