Good NBA teams win when everything is going their way.
Great NBA teams win in spite of the circumstances.
That’s why this is the perfect time for the Cleveland Cavaliers to prove that they’re a great team.
They’ve hit a mini-slump, and it’s not much of a coincidence to see that happening at the same time they’ve been stung by the injury bug.
Dean Wade recently fell with a bone bruise in his knee, and there’s no timetable for his return.
Kenny Atkinson will now have to rely on Max Strus to be the starting small forward.
And while he can knock down shots like the best of them, he’s going to have to step up on the defensive end of the floor as well.
When asked about that, Strus admitted that even though he hasn’t been as good on defense this season as he was in years past, he’s not going to back down from any challenge:
“I’ll take any challenge,” Strus said. “I feel like I’m finally back to myself. There’s no excuse. I haven’t been as good as I’ve been in the past defensively but been working on it and tonight I feel like I took a step forward. Just going to keep building off of that, keep building my confidence on that end and keep trying to help this team win in any way possible.”
Strus rose to prominence with the Miami Heat, so he clearly knows what it takes to get stops.
You won’t even sniff the floor with Erik Spoelstra unless you go all-out on defense.
We’ve seen multiple Heat players fall off once they leave South Beach.
Hopefully, that won’t be the case with Strus, who’s finally getting his legs back under him after missing a stretch of the season with a foot injury.
His shot-making is crucial, but the Cavs need defense as well, and he’ll have to take things up a notch on that end of the floor.
NEXT: Cavs Will Be Missing 5 Players Against Heat
