{"id":526696,"date":"2026-03-16T10:44:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T10:44:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/526696\/"},"modified":"2026-03-16T10:44:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T10:44:13","slug":"max-strus-has-a-new-perspective-after-seven-months-away-from-basketball","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/526696\/","title":{"rendered":"Max Strus has a new perspective after seven months away from basketball"},"content":{"rendered":"

CLEVELAND \u2014 Max Strus was the last Cleveland Cavaliers<\/a> player in uniform after the game was long over. Maybe that was just a coincidence, but it didn\u2019t feel like it. This was a man who was glad to be back playing basketball after not doing so in an NBA game since May 11.<\/p>\n

Once Strus finally got his jersey off, he took questions from the media \u2014 an activity he\u2019s known for not always outwardly enjoying \u2014 but this time was different. After making it through five minutes of answering questions, he finally broke down.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI worked my ass off,\u201d Struss said.<\/p>\n

Then, he had to take a second to collect his thoughts and regain his voice that had started to waver.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a long road, but I only know one way to work, and that\u2019s as hard as possible. I did that every single day. \u2026 I\u2019m just happy to be playing.\u201d<\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t take Strus long to make his presence felt on the court. After receiving a raucous ovation after entering the game for the first time this season, he knocked down a contested three off a James Harden feed on his first offensive possession in almost a year. Then, he did the same thing on the next trip down the court, only this time from a Dennis Schroder dish.<\/p>\n

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The first triple got the crowd on their feet. The second sent them into a frenzy.<\/p>\n

Strus wasn\u2019t just back, he was better than ever.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a pretty amazing performance after seven months of not playing in an NBA game,\u201d head coach Kenny Atkinson said afterward. \u201cMaybe the best I\u2019ve seen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"CLEVELAND,<\/p>\n

CLEVELAND, OHIO \u2013 MARCH 15: Max Strus #2 of the Cleveland Cavaliers celebrates after scoring during the first quarter against the Dallas Mavericks at Rocket Arena on March 15, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jason Miller\/Getty Images) | Getty Images<\/p>\n

Strus certainly did have an amazing performance. He went on to nail his first four threes before finishing the night going 6-7 from beyond the arc in his 24-point performance in 20 minutes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the Max Strus we know,\u201d Donovan Mitchell said afterward. \u201cThe shooting was there, but it was the little things [that were impressive].\u201d<\/p>\n

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Strus looked like he hadn\u2019t missed a beat in Sunday\u2019s loss to the Dallas Mavericks<\/a>. He was able to impact the game in all the little ways he\u2019s continually done since coming to Cleveland. He was effective at attacking closeouts off the dribble, getting teammates involved as a secondary playmaker, and making an impact on the glass. All of which are things the Cavs have desperately missed in his absence.<\/p>\n

The journey back to the court has been more grueling than expected. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t meant to be this long, but I can\u2019t control the way my body heals.\u201d<\/p>\n

The initial estimates after the injury in August<\/a> had him returning around Christmas, but it took three months longer than expected. Strus mentioned that he could\u2019ve just shut it down for the entire season. That would\u2019ve been an easier option, but he isn\u2019t exactly known for taking the easy way out when presented with that choice.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s put in so much time and effort [into his recovery],\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cIt\u2019s easy for a guy to get discouraged, but he\u2019s not the type to give up.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Strus credits his family with getting him through this process. This ordeal has also led him to seek a different outlook. One more focused on being positive and grateful for everything that he has.<\/p>\n

Life has a way of testing us in uncomfortable and unexpected ways. These last seven months have been incredibly difficult for Strus, but he\u2019s come out on the other side with a better grasp of who he is.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou learn a lot about yourself when something is taken away from you,\u201d Strus said. \u201cI think I understand how important this is and how much it does mean to me that I want to be back. I want to make an impact. I want to help this team win. I do love basketball. I do love doing it with a good group of guys.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just happy to be back.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CLEVELAND \u2014 Max Strus was the last Cleveland Cavaliers player in uniform after the game was long over.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":526697,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[852,8174,760,6423,13054,2934,6418,27497,355,6454,29972,99,237095],"class_list":["post-526696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-cleveland","tag-cleveland-cavaliers","tag-dallas-mavericks","tag-dennis-schroder","tag-donovan-mitchell","tag-getty-images","tag-james-harden","tag-max-strus","tag-nba","tag-ohio","tag-rocket-arena","tag-sports","tag-terms-and-conditions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/526696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=526696"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/526696\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/526697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=526696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=526696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=526696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}