NBA
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith did not hold back on Miami’s Max Strus for his struggles during the 2023 NBA Finals
Zach Wolpin is an NBA and NFL expert who's been betting on the league for over three years now. Wolpin has been a fan of the NBA and has been watching for a decade and a half. He covers the latest news and stories surrounding the league daily. His passion in life is watching sports and being able to share that through his sports writing. He has written about the NBA and other sports leagues through various media outlets over the years like Sir Charles In Charge, G-Men HQ, and TAP into South Plainfield. Before he became an NBA News Writer, Wolpin attended Montclair State University where he graduated in 2021. He studied Sports Media and Writing while in school.
All posts by Zach WolpinUpdated12 Jun 2023
The Miami Heat are on the brink of elimination tonight and they need a win to keep their season alive. Throughout the 2023 postseason, Miami’s role players have stepped up and made a huge impact. However, the Finals have been different. Max Strus was a player who elevated Miami through the East playoffs. He’s been the exact opposite in the Finals. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith did not hold back on his comment about Strus.
During Miami’s first 18 games of the 2023 postseason, Max Strus averaged (10.3) points per game. He made his biggest impact during their second-round series vs the Knicks. Strus scored 10+ points in eight straight games that carried over into Games 1, 2, and 3 in the Conference Finals.
However, during the 2023 NBA Finals, Strus has been nearly nonexistent on offense. Miami needs his production along with the rest of their role players if they want to keep their season alive. The Denver Nuggets would love to end the series tonight in Game 5 at home.
Max Strus is shooting 20% on WIDE OPEN 3s in the NBA Finals 🤯
(Via @5ReasonsSports ) pic.twitter.com/1wqfD3KcPv
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) June 11, 2023
Stephen A. Smith did not hold back on his comments about Miami’s Max Strus
During the 2023 NBA Finals, Max Strus is averaging (4.2) points per game. He’s had two games during the Finals where he’s ended with zero points. That can’t happen for the teams starting SG. He’s 5-31 on his three-pointers taken during the Finals. On top of that, he’s shooting 20 percent on wide-open threes during the Finals.
Stephen A. Smith ripped into Max Strus for his horrible performances during the NBA Finals and had this to say.
“Max Strus has no business recording just as many points as me,”… “There’s no excuse for that. I don’t give a damn about the talent gap, I’m gonna crystallize it for you…he has no business as a starting shooting guard, that means your job is to shoot.” – Stephen A. Smith
All the blame cannot be put on Max Strus for Miami being down 3-1 in the Finals. Almost none of their roster is playing to their full potential during the 2023 Finals. The talent gap between the Heat and Nuggets has shown in this series. Miami is desperate for a win tonight to force a Game 6 at home.
