Max Strus’ own words put a spotlight on one of the Miami Heat’s biggest issues during their 2023 NBA Finals run: the stage was simply too big for some of the guys around the edges of the rotation.
Strus didn’t sugarcoat it when talking about Game 1 against the Denver Nuggets. “Game 1, you can look at history and can’t deny the stats.
My game 1 was awful. The amount of pressure that goes into the finals and everybody in the world is watching this game and talking about this game, you can’t escape it.
It did get the best of me. I’ll admit it.
You walk in and you’re like ‘I’m really playing in the NBA finals. This is nuts.’
It probably did get in my head a little bit”
That night, the numbers backed him up. Strus went 0-10 from the field and 0-9 from 3-point range, a brutal showing for a player Miami had leaned on as one of its more reliable perimeter threats.
And while the Finals loss wasn’t on Strus alone, his struggles were part of a bigger problem for the Heat. He settled in only a little after that opener, finishing the series with averages of six points per game while shooting 23 percent from the field and under 20 percent from deep.
That’s exactly why Miami’s pursuit of Klay Thompson made so much sense. The Heat needed more than just shooting. They needed someone who had already lived through the sport’s biggest moments and thrived in them.
Thompson isn’t in his prime anymore, and he isn’t a perfect player. But the difference is obvious: he’s not the kind of veteran you worry about shrinking under the lights. He’s been there, done that, and won four NBA Championships while playing a major role in each one.
For Miami, that kind of championship pedigree matters. If the Heat are going to be taken seriously as a contender this season, they need players who bring more than experience. They need players who know exactly what it takes to win when everything is on the line.
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For Miami, that kind of addition would fit the way the franchise has often looked for experience and stability at the back end of the roster. Loves next move would likely be about leadership and mentorship as much as minutes, and with no signing confirmed yet, the shape of his final chapter is still very much being written. [Read more 🡒]
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Which Heat Legend Really Belongs Next In The Rafters
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So when the conversation turns to the next name that should join that company, it is really a question about what kind of legacy the Heat want to keep making room for. The rafters already carry a mix of official retirements, broader tributes and cross-sport appreciation, and that leaves the franchise with a familiar challenge every time a new standard-bearer comes into view: deciding not just who was great enough, but whose place in Miami sports history feels impossible to leave out. [Read more 🡒]