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With the Miami Heat taking on the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, it will be another marchup where players will reunite with former teammate Max Strus. Before the Heat try to steal a game in Cleveland, star Bam Adebayo didn't hesitate when talking about Strus posisbly giving tips about the team to his current squad.
It started when Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson revealed that Strus was the “most vocal,” according to Sports Illustrated, when the team was watching film on Miami since he was on the team from 2020 to 2023.
“He was most vocal in film today and added three or four tidbits, a couple of strategic points on their style of play,” Atkinson said about Strus preparing the team for the Heat going into Game 1 Sunday night. “He knows the personnel. Gave a couple of things the coaches didn't bring up.”
When a member of the media would ask Adebayo about Strus advising Cleveland about Miami, he would have an NSFW response.
“I don't give a f*** about Max Strus,” Adebayo said via Legion Hoops.
“I don’t give a f*** about Max Strus.”
— Bam Adebayo on Max Strus giving Cavs coaches tips on the Heat 😬
(via @HeatCulture13)pic.twitter.com/kQQexNBQZm
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) April 20, 2025
Adebayo would then be asked if tips from Strus would even benefit the Cavs, but the captain would speak on how different the team is since his former teammate was with them.
“Whole different scheme, whole different lineup, different personnel, so it's not the same,” Adebayo said.
Heat's Tyler Herro on Max Strus
There's no doubt that Heat star Tyler Herro will lead the offense to overexceed expectations against the Cavaliers, especially as the team has immense momentum after making history being the first tenth seed to make it through the play-in tournament. Herro scored 38 points in the win over the Chicago Bulls, 30 against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday, and looks to keep up the production in Cleveland.
Herro would also be asked about Strus and how it feels facing off against him in a playoff atmosphere, to where the 25-year-old had a simple response.
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“Good, very good,” Herro said, according to video from the team's YouTube account.
Like Adebayo, Herro would also receive a question about Miami's system since Strus was with the team, and if his tips to the Cavaliers could be useful. How Herro responded could best be taken as a sarcastic reaction, as he responded with “he knows exactly what we're doing.”
“I think everything's the same,” Herro said. “The exact same. We've been doing the exact same stuff for two years, so he knows exactly what we're doing.”
Heat's Erik Spoelstra speaks about scouting Max Strus
There's no doubt that many predictions will have the Cavs beating the Heat since the latter is an eighth seed facing off against the No. 1 seed. History has shown six other teams accomplishing such a feat, though the last was Miami during their 2023 miraculous run.
Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra would also be asked about Strus giving tips to Cleveland.
“I don't know what he's talked about. Maybe it's stuff from this year,” Spoelstra said.
“It depends on the circumstance,” Spoelstra continued about them scouting Strus. “Yeah, sometimes personnel things, just depends.”
The Heat look to get up 1-0 against the Cavs on Sunday.
