Max Strus working to prove he deserves to remain Heat starter: ‘That’s my goal’

A lot has changed for Miami Heat forward Max Strus in the past year.

A year ago, Strus entered training camp with hopes of simply earning a consistent role in the Heat’s rotation. This year, Strus is working to prove he deserves to keep his spot in the starting lineup.

With the Heat opening training camp Tuesday morning at Baha Mar’s Grand Ballroom in the Bahamas, Strus has made it clear he’s ready to again compete for minutes despite already establishing himself as a quality starter during the team’s run to the Eastern Conference finals last season.

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“I’m ready for whatever,” Strus said. “Nothing is given to you in this league. So I’ve learned that, I know that with the best of them. So I’m ready to earn whatever I can. Obviously, I want to be starting again and continue to help this team win. That’s my goal, that’s my plan. We’ll see how training camp plays out. But I’m ready to do that and continue to keep helping out at a high level.”

Strus, who is in the final season of his contract and will become an unrestricted free agent next summer, 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) last season — his second full NBA season after going undrafted out of DePaul in 2019.

That production was enough for Heat coach Erik Spoelstra to move Strus into the starting lineup in place of Duncan Robinson with two weeks left in the regular season. Strus ended up starting in each of the Heat’s 18 playoff games before the team finished just one win short of reaching the NBA Finals.

With Strus as a starter, the Heat posted a combined 25-9 record last regular season and postseason. Much of that success stems from how well Strus played alongside core Heat starters Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry, as that Strus-Adebayo-Butler-Lowry quartet outscored opponents by an incredibly dominant 18.9 points per 100 possessions last regular season, according to Cleaning the Glass.

“I myself am comfortable with playing with each and every one of them and I think they’re comfortable with me, too,” Strus said. “I think I’m pretty easy to play with. I don’t need the ball in my hands a lot, and I provide a lot of spacing for everybody. So I’m ready to keep contributing to that aspect and ready to keep playing with those guys. We brought a lot of the same people back, so it’s a lot of continuity. So hopefully it stays that way and contribute in any way I can.”

Even after producing positive results as a starter, whether Strus is again used in that role to open this upcoming season is up in the air.

Why? Because if the NBA’s reigning Sixth Man of the Year Tyler Herro gets his wish and is promoted to a starting role, he could take Strus’ place in the starting group. Or the Heat could just go small and take advantage of the hole Tucker left behind when he signed with the Philadelphia 76ers this summer to start both Herro and Strus alongside the Adebayo-Butler-Lowry trio.

With a large sample size of more than 1,000 possessions of proof, the Heat was actually effective with Herro and Strus on the court together last regular season. Miami outscored opponents by 11.1 points per 100 possessions with that duo in the game.

But the lineup of Lowry, Butler, Herro, Strus and Adebayo only logged limited minutes together last season.

“When I wasn’t starting at the beginning of the year, me and Tyler played really well off each other,” Strus said. “I think he’s comfortable with me and I’m very comfortable playing with Tyler. I know where he likes to get to in his spots and I think I can help him out with that. I think with that being said, I think we’re both two pretty good rebounding guards. Anybody who has thoughts about us not rebounding the ball well with a smaller lineup, I think Tyler and I could help out with that.”

Listed at 6-5 and 220 pounds, Strus said he focused on fine-tuning his body this summer in order to unlock another level of his athleticism and reduce the risk of injuries. He dropped eight pounds this offseason.

“I worked on my body a lot,” Strus said. “I’m the lightest I’ve ever been and probably the strongest I’ve ever been. So I feel great and I’m ready for a long season. I think a lot of us, our bodies kind of wore down at the end of last year. I think that was the main goal for me. I think I accomplished that and I’m ready for 82 games and more.”

Three-point shooting is the skill that earned Strus a spot in the NBA, and it’s what made him a valuable part of the Heat’s rotation last season. 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.

But it’s Strus’ underrated defensive skill set, athleticism and ability to make plays off the dribble that could help set him apart as he battles in training camp and the weeks ahead to keep his starting spot.

“That’s always going to be the main thing. Just compete,” Strus said. “We have a lot of competitive guys here. It’s a competitive culture. That’s what we strive and pride ourselves on. So I think we’re all ready for it. But at the end of the day, we understand it’s a business and you can’t play everybody. We’re all ready for it and ready to put our best foot forward.”