With a focus on Tyler Herro and Caleb Martin moving into the Miami Heat’s starting line-up, Max Strus finds himself caught up in the B part of that equation.
Starting in each of his 18 playoff games last season, as well as the last six of the regular season, he has returned to Strauss’ spare life, in Eric Spoelstra’s reconstituted seat.
“I think what I do fits in with any lineup,” Strauss said, as the Heat Boston Celtics face Friday night at the FTX Arena. “So it’s not really hard to adapt to playing a certain way. I think that’s one of my strengths, just getting to where you fit in.
“So I just try to do a good job and let our key people do their work and save the spaces. And when I open up, shoot the ball.”
On opening night, in the Heat’s loss to the visiting Chicago Bulls, Strauss not only contributed 22 points, but also grabbed seven of the 14 rebounds earned by the Heat’s reserve.
“We’re playing a little bit smaller,” Strauss said, with one position in that match leaving him as striker and Jimmy Butler in center. “There will be younger guys out there who are going to have to bounce back. We need our guards to come up and bounce.
“I can do that. So I am more than willing to get down there and blast with the adults and help out on the boards.”
All after Strauss said he made it to camp in the youngest form of his NBA career, officially listed at 6-foot-5, 220 pounds.
“I’m the lightest and probably the strongest,” he said before bootcamp.
“Maybe I’m eight pounds lighter, which doesn’t sound like a lot, but it’s a lot. I’m more lean mass. So that was my plan. And I think it would help me be more explosive and less wear and tear on my body.”
For Strus, the approach is to accept that the new season brings new challenges. And although the Heat brought back 13 players from last season’s roster, he said the redistribution of rotation leads to new squads.
“We’re still trying to figure things out,” he said, with the Heat in the midst of a four-game opener, which runs Saturday night against the Toronto Raptors.
“And even though we’re back with a lot of guys, there are still different formations, different guys playing together, getting to know each other again. So it’s going to take a while. But it will click faster once we start playing more games.”
Among the apparent signature of the reconfigured second unit is a variety of three-pointers, from Strus to Duncan Robinson to Gabe Vincent.
But against the Bulls, the Heat attempted only 28 3-point shots. The Heat averaged 35.8 last season, ranking first in the league.
“Spo will find out,” Strauss said. “It will keep us organized and make us take more threes and play the way we want to.”
For now, it looks like Spoelstra will continue to ride the revised line-up, including Martin at power forward.
Spoelstra said Martin played as announced in the opening game.
“I thought it brought some really good stuff, and its energy and versatility to both sides of the floor,” he said. “This is something we will definitely be able to build on.”
But if he is called up, as he was in the Wednesday night times, Strauss said he is ready and willing to put the power forward.
“I think I can guard the four teams in the league,” he said, “and a lot of players don’t post anymore.” “So in this aspect, I will be ready. So I think the most important thing is the rebound.”
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Originally published at San Jose News Bulletin
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