What Max Strus Can Bring to the Cavs When He Returns

Strus has been ruled out for Friday night's game against the Washington Wizards, but his return should be soon.

Lulls exist in the NBA season.

If a team is eliminated from NBA Cup contention, a lull exists in the middle of December (you are here!) and another one typically exists in late March as teams either fully pursue goals of ending near the top of the NBA Draft order or set their sights on the postseason and my begin to try and hide certain schematic things until the games mean more in mid-April.

The lull doesn’t mean that teams aren’t interested or interesting. Maybe it means some time off, or an extended vacation in Miami like the one the Cleveland Cavaliers just enjoyed. Maybe it means that a spark is needed.

The Cavs are going to be getting that spark in the form of Max Strus making his season debut. The forward sprained his right ankle roughly one week before the regular season began back in October and after more than eight weeks he’s set to be back in the mix.

“I think 25 games in, you get a little stale, and sometimes you need an injection of energy and his dynamic presence, his personality, all that,” Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson said on Thursday following practice. “I just think it's good timing.”