Max Strus: “Not Just a Shooter”

After the shooting display that Max Strus put on for everybody last night in Miami’s win over the Raptors, it’s hard to look past that.

He scored 22 points in 22 minutes, while going 6-8 from beyond the arc. There’s no doubt about it that the guy can shoot the basketball, and thrives mostly in the catch and shoot areas, much like teammate Duncan Robinson.

When Miami brought him on a couple of weeks ago, I mentioned he would be utilized in a similar way after evaluating his past. He works very well when moving off of screens like Duncan does, which made this pick-up very interesting.

Erik Spoelstra talked about his performance after the game, mentioning that he’s had like three days of training camp where he just didn’t miss.

One thing that should always be noted is that Coach Spo and this organization don’t publicly rave about specific players unless they truly believe in them. And well, it’s clear that they believe in Max Strus.

There’s obviously room to dive into his shooting throughout this game, but ultimately every three point make included the same two things.

A quick release and all net.

To that point, it’s clear that the guy can straight up shoot it, but what else is there?

Well, as Erik Spoelstra said following last night’s win, “He’s not just a shooter.”

Although we didn’t get to see a lot other than his shooting, his size is something that he truly uses to his advanatge. He has good size for his position, which is why he finds himself able to back down smaller defenders at times.

And if it ends up sending him to the charity stripe, he’ll most likely knock them down, after shooting 96% from the free throw line in the G-League.

It feels as if these hidden gems just never stop appearing in Miami, and as I’ve mentioned many times, reflects on the Miami Heat’s scouting department. One thing I know about their way of scouting is that they don’t fly at players that are one-dimensional, they fly at players who are unique.

So even if you look at Max Strus as the typical shooter, be prepared to be proven wrong.