Heat’s Max Strus about to see what NBA playoffs are all about: ‘Hopefully I’ll be ready’
Max Strus has played only six playoff minutes during his young NBA career. They all came in the fourth quarter of blowout losses last season when the Miami Heat was swept out of the first round by the Milwaukee Bucks.
As the Heat prepares to begin this season’s playoff run on Sunday at 1 p.m. at FTX Arena against either the Atlanta Hawks or Cleveland Cavaliers, Strus is preparing for a much bigger role. He’s expected to open the postseason as a starter.
“I have. But I try not to,” Strus, 26, said following Friday’s practice at FTX Arena when asked if he has reflected on how far he has come in the last year. “I’m just trying to focus on the task at hand and just be in the moment. All that can wait until the end of the year. Hopefully I’ll be celebrating and it will make it all more worthwhile.”
Strus, who went undrafted in 2019, spent most of this season playing off the bench. But he replaced Duncan Robinson and started the Heat’s final six regular-season games before most of the regulars were held out of last Sunday’s regular-season finale.
Strus (6-5, 215) earned that promotion. He averaged career highs in points (10.6), rebounds (3), assists (1.4) and minutes (23.3) while shooting a career-best 41 percent on 6.5 three-point attempts per game this season.
“Obviously, it’s my first playoffs really that I’m going to play in. I’m really excited,” Strus said. “It’s just another opportunity. Hopefully I prepared for it. I’m going to do my best to prepared for the moment and just let my veteran teammates help me out along the way.”
Among the 47 NBA players who averaged at least six three-point attempts per game while making at least 50 appearances this regular season, Strus closed with the third-best three-point percentage behind only Los Angeles Clippers guard Luke Kennard (44.9 percent) and Memphis Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane (43.6 percent).
Because of that level of efficiency, Strus said “definitely teams are not losing me as much” compared to early in the season.
“But we got one of the best point guards in the league that always seems to find me and put me in the right situations,” Strus said referring to Heat point guard Kyle Lowry. “I just rely on my teammates and they’ve been doing a great job of preparing me for success.”
Another thing that has changed for Strus this season with more playing time: Fewer people are mistaking him for Robinson when he’s walking around Miami. Other than that, Strus made clear it’s the “same old me.”
“I’m taking everything in and just being super grateful for it,” Strus said. “It’s still pretty surreal, all of this. So I’m excited and just looking forward to it.”
The Heat’s experienced veterans will be there to help Strus along the way.
“They’ve already been talking to me,” he said. “Kyle, Jimmy [Butler], P.J. [Tucker], [Udonis Haslem]. We’re all here for the same reason, so they’re going to be helping me out every time I need it. Hopefully I’ll be ready.”
THIS AND THAT
▪ Heat starting center Bam Adebayo remains in COVID-19 protocols, but the expectation remains that he’ll be cleared prior to Game 1 on Sunday. Adebayo could possibly return to the team for Saturday’s practice, as his NBA-required five-day quarantine ends Friday if testing data shows he’s no longer at risk to be infectious.
When asked if he expects Adebayo to be back with the team on Saturday, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Friday: “We’ll see.”
▪ Tucker again worked with coaches and teammates after practice on Friday and the hope is he’ll be able to play on Sunday.
Tucker has been sidelined with a strained right calf since last week. He missed the final two games of the regular season because of the injury.
“I don’t know. Is that him down there?” Spoelstra said with a grin when asked if Tucker was able to be do more in Friday’s practice, as Tucker worked on the other end of the practice court. “You guys should focus on that instead of this. You’re missing live action.”
▪ The Heat is required by the NBA to file an injury report by 5:30 p.m. on Saturday for Game 1 of its first-round series.
▪ With the Heat having six full days off between last Sunday’s regular-season finale and its first playoff game this upcoming Sunday, Spoelstra said the break has been beneficial.
“I think it has helped from a health standpoint for us, but also to get these three days of practice,” he said. “We haven’t really had that kind of opportunity since training camp.”
This story was originally published April 15, 2022 at 1:50 PM.
