Max Strus Is Back for Cleveland Cavaliers on Serious Minutes Restriction

With 15 games remaining on the regular season schedule for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Max Strus is making his long-awaited debut.

Strus has been sidelined after suffering a Jones fracture in his foot that required surgery this offseason. The 29-year-old will return to the Cavaliers on Sunday afternoon against the Dallas Mavericks on a serious minutes restriction.

Before the game, Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson said that Strus’s minutes restriction will be in the low 20 minute mark. According to cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor, Strus will remain on a minutes restriction until the NBA Playoffs.

“[He] is nowhere near game shape, game condition,” Fedor reported.

REPORT: Max Strus is likely to be on a minutes restriction during the entire regular season going into the playoffs, per @ChrisFedor

“[He] is nowhere near game shape, game condition” pic.twitter.com/esLRfIYeoE
— Cavaliers Nation (@WeAreCavsNation) March 15, 2026

Even though it’s going to take more than two weeks for Strus to get his legs and lungs back to working at NBA speed, Atkinson is thankful to have him back in the lineup for a pivotal stretch of basketball.

“We love having his skill, his grit, toughness & of course, his leadership in the locker room,” Atkinson said before Sunday’s game against the Mavericks. “Max is a plug and play guy. Our style is not that much different than it was last year.”

Atkinson acknowledged that Strus will need to acclimate with playing alongside new superstar James Harden, who the Cavs acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers at the NBA trade deadline for Darius Garland. Harden has been a welcomed addition to the Cavaliers, who have been playing much better basketball since his arrival.

“’I’m kinda not worried about that,” Atkinson said. “I just want him to free his mind, play and compete like he always does.”

Even since the deadline, the Cavaliers have been playing with a renewed spirit. The Cavs also acquired Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis from the Sacramento Kings for De’Andre Hunter, two players that approach the game with a tenacious mindset and hunger to win every possession.

Strus matches that new mindset – and Atkinson sounded hopeful that his return will benefit the Cavaliers.

How will Strus fit?

It’ll be fascinating to see how Atkinson puts all of the pieces together for the Cavaliers.

Getting Strus back is a big step. But the Cavaliers will be dealing with his minutes restriction throughout the rest of the regular season. The Cavs have been without Jarrett Allen since March 1 when he collided knees against the Brooklyn Nets. Against the Mavericks, they’ll also be without Jaylon Tyson, who is in the midst of a sophomore breakout season.

The Cavaliers will hope to remove Strus’s minutes restriction in time for the NBA Playoffs, as he’s one of their most seasoned veterans. Last season, he was Cleveland’s most reliable player outside of Donovan Mitchell. This season, he’ll be looking to cram an entire season into 15 games of preparation to get the Cavaliers back to the Eastern Conference Finals.