2 Miami Heat role players that could spell trouble for Boston Celtics

Player that could give Boston Celtics trouble No. 1) Max Strus

Max Strus is someone that was so close to being a full-time member of the Boston Celtics just three offseasons ago and even played well enough during his Summer League stint with the franchise (9.8 points per game and shot 45 percent from deep) to warrant a standard contract.

Unfortunately, shortly before the start of the 2019-20 campaign, the front office opted to give Javonte Green their final regular-season roster spot, thus forcing them to waive the former DePaul star.

At the time of his departure, there were plenty of fans and media pundits who were rather upset by the move, for many saw the talent that the undrafted wing possessed and could ultimately bring to the C’s rotation.

Over time, these feelings have only gone on to grow stronger as the man has developed into a vital part of this championship-aspiring Miami Heat team’s rotation.

This season, Strus has gone on to post career highs all across the board, posting 10.3 points and three boards whilst shooting at a 41 percent clip from deep on 6.5 attempts per game (third-most on the team).

Now, while these numbers are already solid, under the bright lights of the postseason and while serving as a full-time starter, the 26-year-old has only gone on to up his production in a multitude of areas, including points (12.5), boards (4.4), and assists (2.2) and just went on to average a double-double of 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game on 40 percent shooting from deep during Miami’s final two contests against the Philadelphia 76ers to help win them the series.

Quite often in this league, we see players taking a showdown against a former employer a bit personal, and, with this, they can sometimes wind up having stellar performances (remember Patrick Beverly against the LA Clippers in the play-in tournament just last month?!).

Already this year we’ve seen Max Strus square off against the Boston Celtics twice where, in these outings, he put forth two of the best games of his breakout campaign, seeing averages of 20.5 points, five boards, and a block on 48 percent shooting from the field and 50 percent shooting from deep.

Heading into the series, it’s a guarantee that the bulk of defensive attention will be on stopping Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and Kyle Lowry, and rightly so.

However, in their efforts to stop these aforementioned stars, should they forget about Strus, he has the ability to make them pay.