Eastern Conference conquering Cavs suffer key injury blow
The side that finished top of the Eastern Conference in 2025 have suffered an injury setback for one of their players.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have announced that their guard, Max Strus, underwent surgery on a Jones fracture on his left foot and will be out of action for up to four months, according to ESPN.
It’s not the first time in recent memory that the former Miami man has seen injuries sideline him: the Cavs were forced to start last season without Strus as he recovered from right ankle sprain, which caused him to miss 6 weeks — and 27 games — of action.
This absence didn’t hurt Kenny Atkinson’s vision on that occasion as they went 15 games unbeaten before going 64-18 for the whole campaign; they’ll be hoping Strus can be the same good luck charm at Rocket Arena this time around.
“His movement, his shooting... all of that stuff the Cavs are going to feel”
“Max is a significant contributor to a team with championship aspirations,” Wine and Gold Talk podcast contributor Chris Fedor said during a recent episode. “He was going to be in the starting lineup from everything that I had heard, and he is an impactful player. Their numbers with him on the floor and off the floor, offensively and defensively, they speak to his impact on a nightly basis.”
“His movement, his shooting, his gravity, his cutting. He takes the toughest defensive assignments on the perimeter,” Fedor added, “All of that stuff the Cavs are going to feel.”
The 29-year-old, who joined the Cavaliers on a four-year, $63 million sign-and-trade, suffered the current issue during the offseason training sessions as the team prepared to defend their place at the top of the Eastern Conference in the upcoming campaign.
When he returned to the court, Strus made his mark, finishing the season with averages of 9.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists across 50 games last season. He started 37 of them, and went 64-18 for the best regular-season record in the Eastern Conference.
However, the season for the Cavs as a whole, despite finishing as top seed, saw them fail to go all the way in the playoffs, losing to the Indiana Pacers in the semifinals.
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Max Strus underwent surgery to repair a Jones fracture in his left foot sustained during recent offseason workout and will miss approximately 3 to 4 months.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 26, 2025
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The Cavaliers are set to begin the 2025-26 NBA campaign on October 22 at New York.
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