<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/news/cavs-news-fans-clown-max-strus-for-brutal-goose-egg-in-game-5-vs-pacers');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cavs fans clown Max Strus for brutal goose egg in Game 5 vs. Pacers');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.cavsnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Cavs-guard-Max-Strus-1-shoots.jpg"><figcaption>© Ken Blaze-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Cavs fans clown Max Strus for brutal goose egg in Game 5 vs. Pacers</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-05-13T21:46:48-07:00">May 13th, 9:46pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-05-13T21:46:48-07:00">May 13th, 9:46pm</time><address><a>Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cavs News</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p><a href="https://cavsnation.com/news/cavs-news-kenny-atkinson-plants-his-flag-for-max-strus-as-clevelands-forceful-leader" rel="noopener">Max Strus has been taking the initiative</a> in the Cleveland Cavaliers locker room to be the team’s vocal leader; after all, Strus was the only one on the roster who’s made it all the way to the NBA Finals in the past, so he knows what it takes to be there for his team right in the trenches. In fact, prior to the Cavs’ season-ending 114-105 Game 5 loss to the Indiana Pacers, Strus <a href="https://twitter.com/grant_puskar_/status/1922425778488185255" rel="noopener">reportedly sent a text</a> to the team group chat, saying that “if you don’t believe, then don’t show up for work.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Max Strus: “If you don’t believe, don’t show up to work.” </p><p>Oh. My. God.  <a href="https://t.co/QY9Z2nN6Mg">pic.twitter.com/QY9Z2nN6Mg</a></p><p>— Grant Puskar (@grant_puskar_) <a href="https://twitter.com/grant_puskar_/status/1922425778488185255?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 13, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>While Strus meant well with that text as he was simply rallying his team with the hope of igniting a spark that could lead to a 3-1 comeback, this text backfired rather quickly for the Cavs veteran. The 29-year-old wing may as well not have shown up during his team’s Game 5 loss, as he proceeded to go scoreless while missing all nine of his attempts from the field.</p><p>This is a rather embarrassing way to go out for Strus, who’s actually been one of the Cavs’ most consistent performers during their five-game series loss to the Pacers. It’s all the more embarrassing for him when it’s supposed to be him who should show up for his team and yet he vanished completely and was a complete black hole on offense in their season-ending loss.</p><p>“Max Strus shouldnt dribble another basketball in cleveland,” X user @Mike_Coop20 <a href="https://x.com/Mike_Coop20/status/1922511438569976000" rel="noopener">wrote</a>.</p><p>“Max Strus sent the Cavaliers group chat a text that read “If you don’t believe, then don’t show up for work” and proceeds to have this performance 😂,” @hennyruggsiii <a href="https://x.com/hennyruggsiii/status/1922509682838511873" rel="noopener">added</a>.</p><p>“LMAO strus should be the last brother texting anybody about anything,” @BreezeFMB <a href="https://x.com/BreezeFMB/status/1922509147276243162" rel="noopener">furthered</a>.</p><p>“max strus was a great example all series that talk is f**kin cheap,” @Israfil_Twitch <a href="https://x.com/Israfil_Twitch/status/1922508243374338148" rel="noopener">exclaimed</a>.</p><h2><b>Cavs collapse in the playoffs yet again</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.cavsnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Cleveland-Cavaliers-guard-Donovan-Mitchell.jpg"><figcaption>Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Cavs’ playoff exits over the past three years have grown progressively more heartbreaking. In 2023, they lost because the lights became too bright. In 2024, they faced a deluge of injury problems that gave them zero chance against the eventual champion Boston Celtics. And then this year, the <a href="https://cavsnation.com/news/cavs-news-kenny-atkinson-breaks-silence-on-saddening-end-of-clevelands-season" rel="noopener">Cavs saw their dream 64-win season come to a premature end</a> after wilting under the pressure against the Pacers.</p><p>The Cavs looked like a shell of their dominant regular-season selves; after posting the best offensive rating in the NBA this past season, they couldn’t buy a field goal in Game 5, with Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, and Max Strus combining to go 12-40 from the field.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cavs fans clown Max Strus for brutal goose egg in Game 5 vs. Pacers

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-news-donovan-mitchell-max-strus-power-dominant-game-3-win-over-pacers');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cavs’ Donovan Mitchell, Max Strus power dominant Game 3 win over Pacers');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Donovan-Mitchell-drives-Cavs-Pacers_f0a1e6.jpg"><figcaption>Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Cavs’ Donovan Mitchell, Max Strus power dominant Game 3 win over Pacers</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-05-10T06:46:44-07:00">May 10th, 6:46am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-05-10T06:46:44-07:00">May 10th, 6:46am</time><address><a href="https://www.downeuclid.com">Evan Dammarell</a>Evan Dammarell is an award-winning sports journalist covering all things Cleveland, including the Cavs, right off the shores of Lake Erie. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Cavaliers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>With their season teetering on the edge, the Cleveland Cavaliers walked into Gainbridge Fieldhouse for Game 3 knowing only one outcome would do against the Indiana Pacers. Thanks to the determined leadership of Donovan Mitchell and Max Strus, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-news-donovan-mitchell-had-feat-lebron-james-never-did-cleveland-history">the Cavs didn’t just survive</a> their playoff battle. <a href="https://www.nba.com/game/cle-vs-ind-0042400203/box-score" rel="noopener">They dominated</a>.</p><p>Behind Mitchell’s 43 points and a gutsy all-around performance from Strus, the Cavs throttled the Pacers 126-104 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The victory trimmed the Pacers’ series lead to 2-1 and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-news-donovan-mitchell-had-feat-lebron-james-never-did-cleveland-history">delivered Cleveland its first win of the second round emphatically</a>.</p><p>“We haven’t done anything,” Mitchell said. “We won one game [and] we got to do it again. … I told them, we’re not celebrating. We’re not smiling. We came here to take two games, and we did one.”</p><p>The urgency was unmistakable. Three days earlier, the Cavs had suffered a soul-crushing Game 2 collapse, blowing a 20-point lead and falling at home on a Tyrese Haliburton buzzer-beater. In Game 3, they responded with force, fueled by Mitchell’s relentless scoring and Strus’s poise under pressure.</p><p>Mitchell, nursing a strained calf, was masterful. He poured in 14 points in the fourth quarter alone. He added nine rebounds and five assists in 37 minutes, joining LeBron James as the only players in Cavs history with consecutive 40-point playoff games.</p><p>“I thought he was masterful,” Kenny Atkinson said of Mitchell. “I don’t use that word hardly ever. He was masterful in the way he controlled the game, passing, making the right decision, [and] defending.</p><p>“He’s orchestrating his game. But he’s orchestrating the pieces around him. And I thought tonight he was probably the best I’ve seen him all year, just especially with the pressure they were putting on him.”</p><h2><b>Max Strus was on the loose for the Cavs in Game 3</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Max-Strus-shoots-Cavs-Pacers.jpg"><figcaption>Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Strus, meanwhile, turned in another quietly sensational outing. He scored 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including four three-pointers, and chipped in seven rebounds, seven assists, and a block. Just as crucially, Strus helped the Cavs smother Haliburton, who was limited to a playoff career-low four points.</p><p>In this win, the Cavs needed their leaders. They showed up when it mattered most. After Indiana cut an 18-point deficit down to 11 early in the fourth, Gainbridge Fieldhouse came alive. The momentum swung. T.J. McConnell and Pascal Siakam fueled a mini-rally. But Mitchell and Strus answered.</p><p>Out of a timeout, Mitchell corralled an offensive rebound, reset the offense, and buried a tough turnaround jumper over Siakam. After a layup from Bennedict Mathurin, Mitchell hit a step-back three over Aaron Nesmith. Then came the dagger. A routine drive-and-kick to Strus, who drilled a wing triple to push Cleveland’s lead to 112-95 with under seven minutes remaining.</p><p>“That’s why Donovan Mitchell is Donovan Mitchell,” said Strus. “The guy’s a superstar, and he showed you why. We’re always going to rely on Don to carry us and take us home. And he did just that.”</p><p>Strus, acquired in a sign-and-trade after a Finals run with the Miami Heat, has embraced a vocal leadership role, demanding accountability in film sessions and huddles. His battle-tested edge has been invaluable.</p><p>“He knows what it takes just to get to the next level, the next round,” Darius Garland said. “He puts his body and damn near life on the line for us. We really appreciate Max. [He’s] shooting the hell out [of] the ball right now, playing really good defense on any guard that we put him on [and] he’s playing his heart out.”</p><h2><b>It wasn’t just the Donovan Mitchell show in Game 3</b></h2><p>That steady resolve has defined Mitchell throughout this postseason. In Game 2, he was a one-man show. In Game 3, he remained dominant but was flanked by a fully engaged squad, including the long-awaited return of Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and De’Andre Hunter from injury.</p><p>Mobley tallied 18 points and 13 rebounds, while Garland added 10 points despite still not being at full strength. Jarrett Allen posted a 19-point, 12-rebound double-double. The Cavs were finally whole again, and it showed.</p><p>But despite the win, Cleveland still isn’t satisfied. Game 4 awaits Sunday night in Indianapolis, and the Cavs came to take two. They’ve taken one. But if Mitchell and Strus have anything to say about it, they’re not done.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cavs’ Donovan Mitchell, Max Strus power dominant Game 3 win over Pacers

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/news/cavs-news-kenny-atkinson-plants-his-flag-for-max-strus-as-clevelands-forceful-leader');   ga('set', 'title', 'Kenny Atkinson plants his flag for Max Strus as Cavs’ ‘forceful leader’');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.cavsnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Cavs-guard-Max-Strus-1-celebrates-a-made-basket.jpg"><figcaption>© Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Kenny Atkinson plants his flag for Max Strus as Cavs’ ‘forceful leader’</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-05-09T21:19:52-07:00">May 9th, 9:19pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-05-09T21:19:52-07:00">May 9th, 9:19pm</time><address><a>Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cavs News</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Max Strus is the guy on the Cleveland Cavaliers roster who’s made it the farthest in the playoffs, having made it to the NBA Finals with the Miami Heat in 2023. And Strus’ playoff experience is showing as the <a href="https://cavsnation.com/news/cavs-news-espn-insider-optimism-despite-pacers-2-0-lead">Cavs face a mountain of adversity</a> in their second-round matchup against the Indiana Pacers. Facing a must-win scenario in Game 3, Strus had himself another excellent game in support of the brilliant Donovan Mitchell, tallying 20 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists in a 126-104 win.</p><p>When the Cavs signed Strus in the summer of 2023, they banked on him to provide a different dimension to their offense as a shooter who thrives off movement. But they have clearly gotten more than what they expected; Strus not only has been flashing a more well-rounded game as a passer and defender, he’s also been a very crucial part of the team’s locker room as a leader who <a href="https://x.com/NBA/status/1921046880651248048" rel="noopener">speaks up and leads by example</a>.</p><p>“He’s becoming our forceful leader. I haven’t seen him so aggressive, leadership-wise,” Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson said in his postgame presser, via the official NBA account on X (formerly Twitter). “He’s really kinda taken hold of all the huddles, film sessions. His spirit’s phenomenal. And he’s on guys [when] you miss an assignment. He’s kind of our enforcer right now.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">🎙️ "He's becoming our forceful leader."</p><p>CLE's Kenny Atkinson after the Game 3 road win gives high praise to Max Strus who scored 20 points and drilled 4 threes! <a href="https://t.co/0jKofZBooN">pic.twitter.com/0jKofZBooN</a></p><p>— NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1921046880651248048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 10, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>This Cavs team is young; Darius Garland and Evan Mobley are 25 and 23 years of age, respectively, and they haven’t made it past the second round of the playoffs. Even Mitchell hasn’t made it yet to a Conference Finals. And from an experience and age standpoint, it’s not a surprise at all to see Strus take initiative and be the one to set the tone for his team, especially when they’re facing immense pressure to succeed in this year’s playoffs after the brilliant regular season that they had.</p><h2><b>Cavs’ Max Strus is a man of his word</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.cavsnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Cavs-guard-Max-Strus-1-high-fives-with-head-coach-Kenny-Atkinson.jpg"><figcaption>© Sam Navarro-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Max Strus was partially at fault for the Cavs’ collapse near the end of Game 2; he threw a wayward inbounds pass that set off the chain of events that ended with Tyrese Haliburton’s heartbreaking game-winning triple.</p><p>After that game, <a href="https://cavsnation.com/news/cavs-news-max-strus-drops-truth-bomb-after-painful-game-2-collapse-vs-pacers">Strus said that he and the Cavs must be better</a> in protecting leads, and they followed through on that on Friday night. The Pacers never give up, but the Cavs stopped every comeback attempt in the second half, and there’s no doubt that Strus’ leadership played a part in them keeping their poise on the road.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Kenny Atkinson plants his flag for Max Strus as Cavs’ ‘forceful leader’

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/news/cavs-news-max-strus-drops-truth-bomb-after-painful-game-2-collapse-vs-pacers');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cavs’ Max Strus drops truth bomb after painful Game 2 collapse vs. Pacers');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.cavsnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Cavs-guard-Max-Strus-1-defends-Indiana-Pacers-guard-Tyrese-Haliburton.jpg"><figcaption>© David Richard-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Cavs’ Max Strus drops truth bomb after painful Game 2 collapse vs. Pacers</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-05-06T20:33:10-07:00">May 6th, 8:33pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-05-06T20:33:10-07:00">May 6th, 8:33pm</time><address><a>Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cavs News</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>For much of Game 2, everything was <a href="https://cavsnation.com/news/cavs-news-donovan-mitchell-not-freaking-out-shocking-game-1-loss-pacers" rel="noopener">going according to plan for the Cleveland Cavaliers</a>. Despite being without Evan Mobley, Darius Garland, and De’Andre Hunter, the Cavs were in command, thanks in large part to another bonkers performance from Donovan Mitchell, who finished with 48 points on the night after making a concerted effort to attack the basket. But in the end, the Cavs blew it in the final 30 seconds of the game — with Max Strus’ turnover on the inbounds play while up by three setting in motion the events that led to Tyrese Haliburton’s game-winner in a 120-119 loss for Cleveland.</p><p>It’s quite a shame that it’s Strus of all people who was charged with a very costly turnover after he stepped up all night long to give Mitchell and the Cavs some scoring support amid the absences of two of the team’s best players. Now down 2-0 after two games at home, the Cavs are in real danger of seeing their dream season come to a premature end.</p><p>All Strus can do is reflect at <a href="https://x.com/RealDCunningham/status/1919940060138328240" rel="noopener">how high the standards</a> the Cavs must set for themselves if they were to save their season after a devastating Game 2 loss.</p><p>“A minute left, up seven, can’t lose that one. Gotta be better,” Strus said following the Cavs’ loss, per Danny Cunningham of The Inside Shot.</p><p>To mount a deep playoff run that culminates in winning the NBA championship, teams must hold themselves to the highest of standards. The margins separating a win and loss are razor-thin, and the Cavs simply cannot let a seemingly comfortable lead in the final minute or so of the ballgame slip away from their fingertips.</p><p>At the end of the day, the Cavs’ season is far from over. They must enter Game 3, however, with the mindset that their season could very well be coming to an end if they don’t win.</p><h2><b>Cavs figure out the hard way that no lead is safe</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.cavsnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Donovan-Mitchell-passes-Michael-Jordan-with-crazy-Game-1-feat.jpg"><figcaption>Ken Blaze-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>In the NBA playoffs, especially in the second round, there isn’t much separating the remaining teams in terms of roster quality. Thus, there is no such thing as a safe lead, and the Cavs learned that the hard way after relinquishing a seven-point lead with around 57 seconds left in Game 2 against the Pacers.</p><p>Perhaps in Game 3, things will be <a href="https://cavsnation.com/news/cavs-news-donovan-mitchell-leaves-fans-stunned-early-poster-dunk-game-2-pacers" rel="noopener">more smooth-sailing for the Cavs</a> on the road, provided, of course, that Evan Mobley and Darius Garland return. They must shake off the emotional impact of this stunning Game 2 loss and have the memory of a goldfish moving forward.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cavs’ Max Strus drops truth bomb after painful Game 2 collapse vs. Pacers

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/news/cavs-news-cleveland-has-fixed-issue-that-stunned-max-strus-when-he-first-signed');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cavs have fixed issue that ‘stunned’ Max Strus when he first signed');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.cavsnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Cavs-guard-Max-Strus-1-high-fives-with-head-coach-Kenny-Atkinson.jpg"><figcaption>© Sam Navarro-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Cavs have fixed issue that ‘stunned’ Max Strus when he first signed</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-28T01:43:02-07:00">April 28th, 1:43am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-28T01:43:02-07:00">April 28th, 1:43am</time><address><a>Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cavs News</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://cavsnation.com/news/cavs-news-darius-garland-game-4-status-heat-2-word-kenny-atkinson-treatment" rel="noopener">Cleveland Cavaliers are well on track</a> to make it to the second round of the playoffs, as they have the Miami Heat on the ropes in their first-round matchup after taking a 3-0 lead courtesy of a 124-87 win on Saturday. On Monday, the Cavs have a chance to officially send the Heat packing — with Max Strus on course to bid his former team a farewell.</p><p>Strus signed with the Cavs last offseason after Cleveland saw his skillset as a missing piece to their offense; the 29-year-old excels in moving around the court, with his gravity opening up plenty for the team’s scoring attack. And while Strus seemed to be an addition that needed no adjustment period whatsoever, the 29-year-old wing needed some time to process the change that came from adapting to the Cavs’ locker room culture after spending the formative years of his career with the Heat.</p><p>The Cavs wing revealed that he was quite shocked at how immature the locker room was in Cleveland compared to when he was with the Heat; the Heat Culture was one of discipline, and the Cavs were relatively more lax. But now, Strus has <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6313294/2025/04/26/cleveland-cavaliers-miami-heat-game-3-trash-talking/" rel="noopener">seen his team grow</a> before his very eyes as they prepare for what they’re hoping will be a championship run.</p><p>“We’ve matured a lot,” Strus said, per Joe Vardon of The Athletic. “It comes with the more you get around guys, the more you play together, the more experience you have. So I think it’s just after last year’s playoffs, I think guys came back this year ready and prepared. Grew up a little bit, I guess you could say. But yeah, it’s been fun watching our younger guys grow and learn and be in these positions.”</p><p>Strus and the Cavs can mature even further by taking care of business in Game 4 of their first-round series against the Heat later tonight at 7:30 PM E.T.</p><h2>This Cavs team has been forged in the fires of playoff heartbreak</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.cavsnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Cavs-All-Star-Donovan-Mitchell-Cavs-head-coach-Kenny-Atkinson-1.jpg"><figcaption>David Richard-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>It takes some time for a young team to mature, and the Cavs had to learn how to grow the hard way after falling short in the playoffs over the past two seasons. In 2023, they were punked by the New York Knicks as the Cavs couldn’t keep up with their physicality, and then in 2024, injury woes ended up being their undoing.</p><p>But this year, the <a href="https://cavsnation.com/news/cavs-news-donovan-mitchell-makes-cleveland-playoff-history-not-even-lebron-james-achieved" rel="noopener">Cavs team is healthy and locked in</a>, and they’re poised to make it deep into the playoffs.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
9.4	4.3	3.2	0.2	0.5

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
9.4	4.3	3.2	0.2	0.5

Max Strus

Latest Max Strus News

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Kenny Atkinson plants his flag for Max Strus as Cavs’ ‘forceful leader’

Cavs’ Max Strus drops truth bomb after painful Game 2 collapse vs. Pacers

Cavs have fixed issue that ‘stunned’ Max Strus when he first signed

Max
Strus