Max Strus viewed as Cavs’ biggest X-factor down the stretch

Max Strus is back and people are already noticing.

For instance, Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey labeled Strus as the Cavaliers’ biggest X-factor the rest of the way. And that sounds about right. It’s not about star power. It’s about fit.

“Strus’ shooting … could go a long way toward pulling defensive attention away from Donovan Mitchell and James Harden,” Bailey wrote.

That’s the whole thing. Spacing. Movement. Volume shooting. The stuff that doesn’t always headline but changes everything.

Strus wasted no time reminding everyone. He dropped 24 points in his season debut against Dallas, hitting six of seven from deep. No ramp-up. No easing in. Just let it fly.

Second game? More of the same energy. Different box score. Still impactful.

“He’s just Max,” Sam Merrill said, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. “Whether he is making or missing shots, he’s impacting the game.”

That’s why this matters. The Cavs already have the names. Mitchell. Harden. Mobley. Allen. But playoff basketball is about the margins. The extra shooter. The guy who bends the defense just enough.

That’s Strus.

Cleveland hasn’t been past the second round in this era. The pressure is real. The expectations are higher after the Harden deal.

And now, they may have the piece that ties it all together. Not the All-Star. But the connector.