3-point game — and more: Strus has raised the ante
The thought coming out of summer league with Max Strus was something along the lines of, “Wait, he can do that?”
Yes, he can.
Score off the dribble. Get to the foul line. Rebound.
All while appreciating that it was and remains a matter of what is asked.
“I played my role and did it to the best of my ability,” the 6-foot-5 guard said of limitations showed last season, in his first go-round with the Miami Heat, and potential possibilities ahead for the coming season.
While perspective remains essential in evaluating any Summer League performance, what mattered most about what Strus offered over the past two-plus weeks was how he showed a diversity beyond what he offered in last season’s limited minutes.
As the Las Vegas summer league concluded, it was apparent Strus can do more.
“During the regular season with the big team, you got to play your role and do what the team asks for you,” he said, with the Heat less than six weeks from the start of training camp.
“If, for whatever reason, my role changes next year, I’m learning and growing.”
Actually, there was a stat during summer league even more telling than Strus’ .411 3-point shooting
(23 of 56).
During his five Summer League appearances, he shot .414 (12 of 29) on 2-point attempts.
On the face of it, that would represent a significant drop-off from the remarkable .897 he shot on 2-point field goals last season. But that’s the point. He attempted to do more, expand his game during summer league, not content to stall, at 25, with his repertoire.
“The biggest thing the Heat provides,” Strus said, “is their development program is top notch, to where every day you’re learning something new or you’re getting better at something. They take pride in it and I take pride in it myself. So it’s a perfect fit for both of us.” So where does Strus fit in now that he has moved from two-way contract to a guaranteed $1.7 million salary for the coming season?
Foremost, there now can be a high-percentage 3-point spacer on the floor at all times for coach Erik Spoelstra, perhaps a rotation as simple as when Duncan Robinson goes out, Strus enters.
Beyond that, the DePaul product figures to be at least the fourth wing, behind Robinson, Jimmy Butler and
Tyler Herro, not quite with the ballhandling skills to spell Lowry. But with Kendrick Nunn and Goran Dragic lost during the offseason, and with Victor Oladipo sidelined, the opportunity will be there.
“He’s really grown,” said assistant coach Malik Allen, who guided the Heat’s summer roster.
“Just his confidence level. The thing you noticed when he first got here was he was a willing listener and just a very smart worker. And that carried on.
“His game is going to keep growing, just because he put the time in. He’s very diligent. He works smart, so he’s going to keep growing there.”
Initially, Strus, as a two-year veteran, wasn’t certain whether he would be part of summer league.
“It was a long talk, and then I started working out and being around the guys,” he said. “My agent and I thought this was the best decision for me.”
The two weeks allowed Strus to work with the same coaches who had shared in the sweat equity on the Heat’s practice court, including assistants such as Allen, Caron Butler, Eric Glass.
“Continuity is definitely huge,” he said. “It’s just guys that I’m comfortable around; they’re comfortable around me. They know exactly who I am now; and I know what they want from me. So it’s just a recipe for success.”
A day after reporting for summer league, the Heat extended a two-year contract.
Strus immediately turned that into a sound investment, the leading scorer in the Sacramento summer league, ninth in scoring average in the Las Vegas Summer League.
“I’ve learned so much from those opportunities that I’ve gotten,” he said. “Every day you’re in the gym, learning with these guys, and learning from the vets that you’re around, you just keep accelerating and working on things you didn’t even know about before.”