Max Strus

Max Strus

28-Year-Old ForwardF
Cleveland Cavaliers
GTD
Injury Ankle
Est. Return 12/16/2024
2024 Fantasy Outlook
Strus was a regular starter in his first season with the Cavaliers and was part of the starting unit in his 70 regular-season appearances, a career-high mark. Even though he thrived as a spot-up shooter in an offense that was designed for the likes of Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland and Evan Mobley, Strus posted career highs in each of the five major categories, averaging 12.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.4 blocks across 32.0 minutes per game in the regular season. Strus figures to remain the Cavaliers' starting small forward for the 2024-25 campaign, but his fantasy prospects will be similar to the ones of the previous season, especially since the Cavaliers didn't undergo any massive changes. However, Strus' upside is capped by the fact he has a minor role in the offense, particularly from a usage-rate perspective, and he also struggles in the efficiency department -- he has shot under 42 percent from the field and 36 percent from deep in the last two seasons. Strus might be an interesting player to stream at times and should provide decent averages, but he'll be better suited to be drafted in the latter stages of most fantasy drafts. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Current Season
From Preseason
#147
ADP
$Signed a four-year, $62.3 million contract with the Cavaliers in July of 2023.
Personal Bio/PreCareer Summary

Strus was born in 1996 in Hickory Hills, Illinois to John and Debra Strus. Both parents, along with an older brother and older sister, participated in various college sports. His mother was a two-sport star at DePaul and a member of their Athletic Hall of Fame. Strus went to Amos Alonzo Stagg High School in Palos Hills, Illinois, where he played both basketball and baseball all four years. During his senior season, he went on to average 19 points and nine rebounds. He received a Division I offer from Chicago State University but opted to join Division II Lewis University. You can follow Strus on Instagram (@maxstrus). Max Strus played in four collegiate seasons. He initially starred for two seasons with the Lewis University Flyers before transferring to DePaul and playing for the Blue Demons for his final two collegiate campaigns. As a sophomore at Lewis, Strus averaged 20.2 points and 8.4 boards per contest, which led to first team All-GLVC and Honorable Mention Division II All-American honors. With DePaul, he was a starter in all of the 66 games in which he appeared. In his senior season, he averaged 20.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.2 made threes per contest. Strus also led the Big East in minutes played (1,309). That ruggedness and production led to Struss being named to the All-Big East 2nd Team.

Ultimately ruled out Friday
FCleveland Cavaliers
Ankle
December 12, 2024
Strus (ankle) won't play in Friday's game versus the Wizards.
ANALYSIS
Despite previous reports suggesting that Strus would make his season debut against Washington, he will remain sidelined Friday. However, it appears Strus is nearing a return to action with his next chance to suit up coming in Monday's matchup with Brooklyn.
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Stat Review
How does Max Strus compare to other players?
This section compares his stats with all players from the previous three seasons (minimum 200 minutes played)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.
  • True Shooting %
    An advanced statistic that measures a player's efficiency at shooting the ball that takes field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and three point percentage into account.
  • Effective Field Goal %
    A statistic that adjusts field goal percentage to account for the fact that three-point field goals count for three points while field goals only count for two points.
  • 3-Point Attempt Rate
    Percentage of field goal attempts from three point range.
  • Free Throw Rate
    Number of free throw attempts per field goal attempt.
  • Offensive Rebound %
    An estimate of the percentage of available offensive rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
  • Defensive Rebound %
    An estimate of the percentage of available defensive rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
  • Total Rebound %
    An estimate of the percentage of available rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
  • Assist %
    An estimate of the percentage of teammate field goals a player assisted while they were on the floor.
  • Steal %
    An estimate of the percentage of opponent possessions that end with a steal by the player while they were on the floor.
  • Block %
    An estimate of the percentage of opponent two-point field goal attempts blocked by the player while they were on the floor.
  • Turnover %
    An estimate of turnovers committed per 100 plays.
  • Usage %
    An estimate of the percentage of team plays used by a player while they were on the floor.
  • Fantasy Points Per Game
    NBA Fantasy Points Per Game.
  • Fantasy Points Per Minute
    NBA Fantasy Points Per Minute.
True Shooting %
55.3%
 
Effective Field Goal %
53.3%
 
3-Point Attempt Rate
65.8%
 
Free Throw Rate
13.3%
 
Offensive Rebound %
3.4%
 
Defensive Rebound %
13.5%
 
Total Rebound %
8.5%
 
Assist %
17.5%
 
Steal %
1.3%
 
Block %
1.2%
 
Turnover %
9.6%
 
Usage %
0.0%
 
Fantasy Points Per Game
26.4
 
Fantasy Points Per Minute
0.8
 
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NBA Historical Fantasy Stats
How are these ratings calculated?
Our historical fantasy ratings are standard scores calculated using 8-Category settings with 12 teams and 13 players per team.
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Cavaliers Depth Chart
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Cavaliers Rotation: Minutes Breakdown
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Average Fantasy Points
Average Fantasy Points are determined when Max Strus was active vs. non-active during the season. Click here to view average fantasy points for a different time period.
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Max Strus See More
Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire: Who to Add for Week 9
2 days ago
Alex Rikleen analyzes the fantasy basketball waiver wire and provides a myriad of suggestions for managers. Can Max Strus repeat his impressive 2023-24 season?
NBA DFS Picks: DraftKings Plays and Strategy for Sunday, November 24
21 days ago
Joel Bartilotta highlights his favorite plays for Sunday's four-game DFS Main Slate on DraftKings, including De'Aaron Fox, who's been one of the league's top performances over the last two weeks.
NBA DFS Picks: DraftKings Plays and Strategy for Wednesday, November 20
25 days ago
Look no further for strategies and picks for tonight's daily fantasy slate on DraftKings. Is Giannis Antetokounmpo in store for a big game against the Bulls?
NBA DFS Picks: DraftKings Plays and Strategy for Tuesday, November 19
26 days ago
Look no further for DraftKings DFS strategy and picks for Tuesday's NBA slate. Will Brandon Boston continue his strong play tonight?
NBA DFS Picks: DraftKings Plays and Strategy for Sunday, November 17
28 days ago
Joel Bartilotta highlights his favorite picks for Sunday's nine-game DFS Main Slate on DraftKings, including Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who continues to put up gaudy numbers.
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2023
2022
2019
Strus just had a career year for the Eastern Conference champions, earning him a life-changing contract. The undrafted wing developed into a tremendous three-and-D option last year, averaging 11.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 0.5 steals across 28.4 minutes a night. His biggest asset is his shooting, knocking down 2.5 three-pointers a night with efficiency of 41.0 percent from the field, 87.6 percent from the free-throw line and 35.0 percent from long range. That's down from shooting 44.5 percent from the field and 39.2 percent from long distance in the two previous years. It's unclear if the drop-off was due to an increase in volume, marking career-highs in attempts in both categories. In any case, he got a four-year, $63 million deal with the Cavaliers and should play a similar role with the talented team. The good news is that Cleveland has no legitimate small forwards on the roster, playing Isaac Okoro way too many minutes over the last few years. Strus should step right into that starting small forward role and provide similar averages to what we saw last season. Don't look for him to be drafted unless you're in a deeper format, but he'll be an interesting player to stream at times.
After playing spot minutes with Miami in 2020-21, Strus moved into a more prominent role last season, with the Heat losing some depth and Duncan Robinson regressing as a shooter. That allowed Strus to claim 23.3 minutes per game and start 16 of his 68 appearances. He posted career marks nearly across the board, with averages of 10.6 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists. He's primarily a three-point shooter, with 77 percent of his shots coming from distance, and he converted 2.7 threes per game at 41.0 percent. Notably, he shot 50 percent (58-for-117) from the corners. This season, there should continue to be minutes in the mid-20s available for the fourth-year pro out of DePaul. The Heat lost PJ Tucker to Philadelphia during the offseason and didn't replace his minutes, so it's possible Jimmy Butler logs more minutes at power forward, which would open up time on the wing for Strus and others. Nevertheless, it seems unlikely that Strus will hold fantasy relevance in most leagues. He ranked 227th in per-game fantasy production last season. He could improve and crack the top 200, but his upside remains relatively low. For managers in very deep leagues, he's a bench option that can catch fire from beyond the arc and supply some value in that area.
The undrafted rookie out of DePaul signed a two-way contract with the Celtics in late June. At 23 years of age, the 6-foot-6 forward is getting a late start to his professional career. Boston is hoping to develop Strus into an effective three-and-D bench player. During his last year at DePaul, Strus shot 51 percent from the field and 36 percent from behind the arc. He'll model his game after fellow Celtic Semi Ojeleye, but without the massive muscles.
More Fantasy News
Looks set to debut Friday
FCleveland Cavaliers
Ankle
December 10, 2024
Strus (ankle) is expected to be cleared to make his season debut in Friday's game against the Wizards, Grant Afseth of RG.org reports.
ANALYSIS
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Returns to parent club
FCleveland Cavaliers
Ankle
December 8, 2024
The Cavaliers recalled Strus (ankle) from the G League's Cleveland Charge on Saturday.
ANALYSIS
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Sent to G League squad
FCleveland Cavaliers
Ankle
December 7, 2024
The Cavaliers assigned Strus (anklee) to the G League's Cleveland Charge on Friday.
ANALYSIS
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Working with G League club
FCleveland Cavaliers
Ankle
December 6, 2024
Strus (ankle) was assigned to the G League's Cleveland Charge on Wednesday morning and recalled in the afternoon.
ANALYSIS
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Still no return timeline
FCleveland Cavaliers
Ankle
December 1, 2024
Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson said Sunday that Strus (ankle) remains without a firm timeline for making his season debut, Ethan Sands of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Could make season debut Friday
FCleveland Cavaliers
December 10, 2024
Strus could make his 2024-25 season debut Friday against the Wizards, Grant Afseth of RG.org reports.
ANALYSIS
Strus initially sustained a hip contusion early in the preseason and was nearing a return from that injury when he sprained his ankle during an individual workout just days before the season opener. The veteran forward is viewed as the Cavaliers' fifth starter when healthy, but he might not recover his starting role right away. According to Afseth, Strus is likely to face a minutes restriction when deemed available. Also, a previous report from Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com indicated the 28-year-old would likely come off the bench in his return.
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