How can Heat’s Max Strus ‘be more complete’ next season? Also, the Butler-Mitchell photo
Most of the noise surrounding the Miami Heat this offseason will be about who and what the roster needs to improve. The good news for the Heat is it already has a few players who believe they can take another step forward and help the team improve from within.
Wing Max Strus, who was moved into the starting lineup in place of Duncan Robinson with just two weeks left in the regular season and was a starter throughout the playoff run, is among those players.
“Just got to be more complete,” Strus said when asked what he views as the next step in his development after the Heat’s season ended with a loss in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals in late May. “Obviously, teams are going to force me to make plays inside the arc. So I got to get better there.”
Strus, 26, 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 in 68 regular-season games (16 starts) in his second full NBA season after going undrafted out of DePaul in 2019.
He was one of only six NBA players to shoot 41 percent or better on at least six three-point attempts per game, along with Brooklyn’s Kyrie Irving, Memphis’ Desmond Bane, Chicago’s Lonzo Ball, Los Angeles’ Luke Kennard and Brooklyn’s Joe Harris.
Three-point shooting is the skill that earned Strus a spot in the NBA and with the Heat. But after 78.4 percent of his shots came from three-point range, he’s hoping to diversify his shot chart moving forward and keep defenses off balance by effectively attacking aggressive closeouts on the perimeter.
Among the 293 NBA players who appeared in at least 50 games this past season, only five had a higher percentage of their shots come from behind the arc than Strus — Toronto’s Armoni Brooks, Robinson, Philadelphia’s Danny Green, Dallas’ Davis Bertans and Houston’s Garrison Mathews,
“I think I’ve taken leaps and bounds as a player in this league,” Strus continued. “Our team didn’t have the outcome that we wanted. But looking through the full year, I think I’ve had a pretty successful season personally. I’ve grown a lot and learned a lot. There’s definitely areas for improvement and that’s exciting about this game. That’s what makes you want to keep flourishing is the challenges that come with it and the ways you can get better.”
Strus’ numbers weren’t as impressive in the playoffs, as he averaged 10.9 points while shooting 37.4 percent from the field and 33.1 percent from three-point range.
After making a league-leading 37.9 percent of its threes in the regular season, the Heat shot just 30 percent from deep in the East finals. Strus, who attempted a team-high 7.9 three-pointers per game this postseason, accepted “full blame” for those struggles.
“I should be the leader of that as the best shooter on the team,” he said. “So I’ll obviously look at the numbers as a way to get better and push myself this summer to be better next year.”
On the other side of the court, Strus’ individual defense in the playoffs was encouraging
Seen as the weak defensive link as part of a starting lineup that also includes Kyle Lowry, Jimmy Butler, P.J. Tucker and Bam Adebayo, Strus is the obvious choice for opponents to pick on. With teams working to go at Strus in space, a team-high 20.3 percent of his defensive possessions were spent defending an isolation in the postseason, according to NBA tracking stats.
But Strus’ defense more than held up with the help of quality defenders providing support, as he allowed just 0.66 points per isolation possession in the playoffs. That ranks in the NBA’s 85th percentile.
“I always thought I was solid on the defensive end. But I think this year proved that to other people,” said Strus, whose size at 6-5 and 215 pounds and athleticism make him a versatile defender. “I think I’ve gotten more respect and have gained more respect around the league as a better defender.
“People are still going to try me and attack me, and I hope they do because I think it takes them out of their rhythm, it takes them out of their offense. I’m just going to keep proving over and over again that I can guard in this league and be a guy that can stop people.”
Whether Strus will continue to prove that as part of the Heat’s starting lineup is up in the air. If sixth man Tyler Herro is promoted to a starting role, he could take Strus’ place in the starting group.
But unless there’s a trade that brings big changes, Strus will be back on the Heat’s roster.
The Heat has until June 29 to decide on the $1.8 million team option in Strus’ contract for next season. Considering that Strus closed the season as a starter, it’s clear that Miami will exercise the option in Strus’ contract to bring him back at such a team-friendly salary.
“I think obviously the spacing is huge for us and what we do and huge for Jimmy in how he gets in the paint,” Strus said of how his outside shooting helps the Heat. “I think that definitely is a huge help. But I got figure out other ways to be more helpful. We all got to find ways to do that and be better next year.”
THE BUTLER-MITCHELL PHOTO
The NBA social media world began buzzing Sunday night when NBA skills trainer Chris Brickley shared a photo on Instagram of Butler and Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell sitting next to each other at his birthday party in New York.
Brickley trains both Butler and Mitchell.
Mitchell still has four years and $135 million left on his contract with the Jazz, but he has been mentioned as a potential trade target for the Heat.
Shortly after Jazz coach Quin Snyder resigned earlier this month, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Mitchell is “unsettled, unnerved and wondering what it means for the franchise’s future.” But it’s expected to require a trade demand from Mitchell to get the Jazz to consider dealing him.
This story was originally published June 13, 2022 at 10:51 AM.
