Max Strus Strongly Believes Cavs Have To Get Mentally And Physically Tougher

The Cleveland Cavaliers were the No. 1 seed in the East this season. They won 64 games during the regular season and swept the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs. 

It appeared the Cavaliers were destined to make the NBA Finals this year for the first time since 2018. However, the Indiana Pacers beat Cleveland in the conference semifinals in five games. 

During exit interviews on Wednesday, Max Strus said the team has to get mentally and physically tougher. 

“To me, we’ve got to get tougher,” Strus said. “Physically and mentally. We can talk about it, but we have to be about it.”

The Cavaliers should not have lost Game 2. They had that game in the bag. Mental lapses on both ends of the court helped the Pacers steal that game in Cleveland. 

“We can sit here and talk about it all we want, but until we do it, no one is going to give us that respect,” Strus said. “Nobody is going to talk about our regular season, as they shouldn’t.”

This is a huge offseason for Koby Altman. Is he going to continue to build around Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen and Darius Garland or make a blockbuster trade? Some believe Garland and/or Allen need to be traded for the Cavaliers to become serious title contenders.