The Cleveland Cavaliers are getting healthy at the right time of the season, and they recently got back one of their sharpshooters against the Dallas Mavericks. Max Strus made his season debut with the team after dealing with a foot injury, and he showed in the first half why they missed a player like himself.
Strus finished the first half with a team-high 16 points and knocked down all four of his three-pointers. As soon as he checked into the game, he knocked down two of them.
MAX STRUS IS FEELING IT IN HIS SEASON DEBUT 🔥
Strus, who’s been out the entirety of this season after undergoing foot surgery in the offseason, came out the drained three 3-pointers in his first three minutes of his debut 😳pic.twitter.com/r0W121yDwR
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 15, 2026
With the Cavs missing some of their guards in this matchup, who provide shooting, Strus being able to make an impact immediately returning to the court is huge.
Strus was key for the Cavs last season, averaging 9.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists across 50 games, and started in 37 of them. He also shot 44.2% from the field and 38.6% from the three-point line.
The Cavs are probably pleased that Strus is back, and it will be interesting to see if they manage his minutes for the next couple of weeks as he tries to get back in game shape. If he continues to play as he did in the first half of his return, they may need to remove a minutes restriction sooner rather than later.
The Cavs have stayed afloat this season and made some big moves at the trade deadline, acquiring James Harden, Dennis Schroder, and Keon Ellis. All three have contributed at a high level for the Cavs and are getting them wins, and that will be important as the season comes down the stretch.
Currently 41-26 and fourth in the Eastern Conference, the Cavs still have a chance to get to the third seed, but they're going to need some help from the New York Knicks in hopes that they lose some more games.
