Despite their team missing so many key players lately, Cleveland Cavaliers fans got some good news before the Cavs hosted the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday.
According to head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, sharpshooter Max Strus, who missed Cleveland's last two games with lingering knee pain, has avoided serious injury.
“It's more of a wear and tear thing and a matter of when it calms down,” said Bickerstaff. “So, I can't tell you the grade of seriousness for Max not to play. He's in pain and discomfort and it's a matter of giving it some time to rest and hopefully, it calms down.”
Bickerstaff said that Strus had undergone imaging and analysis of his knee and shared that there was no serious structural damage. Right now, Strus leads the Cavs in time played with 1,932 total minutes logged. That's 142 minutes more than Jarrett Allen, the guy in second place, so some time off could be good for Strus with the playoffs looming.
Typically, Strus isn't a player who would miss time according to Bickerstaff, even if he was banged up. The last several games Strus has sat out for Cleveland mark the first time he's missed action since November 2022, when Strus still played for the Miami Heat. So, with so many minutes played throughout 145 games, some time off for Strus to rest his bothersome knee is the best call for he and the Cavs.
Donovan Mitchell takes positive strides toward return to Cavs
While there's no certainty of when Strus will be back, the lack of serious damage to his knee is wonderful news. An even better development for Cleveland is that Donovan Mitchell has been progressing since news broke several days ago that he would need Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) injections in his sore knee.
According to Bickerstaff, Mitchell's knee will be evaluated by the team's medical staff to best deduce how his knee responded to treatment. In fact, Mitchell has even been a limited participant in practice recently, already testing the limits of his knee after receiving PRP injections. Although there is still a road back for Mitchell to return this development is encouraging for the Cavs.
Bickerstaff did stress that for him to get back on the floor, Cleveland will need Mitchell to go through multiple practices where they continually ramp up his output. If Mitchell passes every benchmark and gets clearance from the team's medical staff, he could be back in action sooner rather than later.
Getting Strus and Mitchell back would be huge for the Cavs, especially with the playoffs less than 20 games away. Cleveland has been incomplete nearly all season long. But if the Cavs are able to start finding on-court consistency before the postseason, they could make a legitimate playoff run. Again, it all will hinge on how Strus and Mitchell feel in the coming days.
“The most import thing is that guys get healthy,” Bickerstaff said. “We want to go into the playoffs being as healthy as we possibly can. So we won’t rush those guys coming back. You do want to see what you got. Unfortunately for us, we’ve been whole very little this year. But again, we know what the guys are capable of.”
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