Thanks to an ankle sprain, the Cleveland Cavaliers will be without Max Strus — who started 70 games for the team in his first season in Cleveland — to begin the 2024-25 regular season. Strus’ status reportedly won’t be re-examined for another six weeks.
Now that Cleveland’s starting small forward is down for the count, Cleveland.com’s Ethan Sands cited three players on the team — Caris LeVert, Isaac Okoro and Dean Wade — who could receive an uptick in playing time for the time being.
“With Strus out, head coach Kenny Atkinson has some tough decisions ahead,” Sands wrote. “The preseason allowed Atkinson to experiment with different starting lineups, and that flexibility may now be crucial. Players like Isaac Okoro, Dean Wade, and Caris LeVert are all candidates to see increased minutes. Okoro’s defense, Wade’s floor spacing, and LeVert’s offensive versatility could all provide different looks as Cleveland aims to stay competitive.”
As Sands implied, all three of Okoro, Wade and LeVert bring different skill sets to the table. Okoro — whom the Cavaliers inked to a three-year, $38 million contract extension in the offseason — has long been one of Cleveland’s top perimeter defenders. He has also steadily improved as a 3-point shooter during his time in the NBA, and he shot a career-high 39.1 percent from deep during the 2023-24 regular season.
Wade, on the other hand, provided consistent rebounding and 3-point shooting for the Cavaliers a season ago. He averaged 7.1 rebounds per 36 minutes and converted 39.1 percent of his 3s on a career-high 3.7 attempts per game.
Thanks to his ability to score the ball from 3-point range, he carved out some notable scoring performances last season, with perhaps his defining showing of the season coming against a loaded Boston Celtics team in March. Wade scored 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field — including 6-of-9 from 3-point range — off the Cleveland bench in a game the Cavaliers won by one point.
Finally, LeVert stands out as the most talented offensive player of the trio. He can score the ball from inside and outside the 3-point line on top of being a capable distributor. LeVert averaged 5.1 assists per game last season, the third-most of any Cavalier.
Okoro, Wade and LeVert are all proven NBA players, so Atkinson should feel confident that they will be able to hold down the fort for the Cavaliers until Strus is feeling healthy enough to make his return to the floor.
