If there is to be additional time off this season for Jimmy Butler, as there has been with the Miami Heat’s leading man missing the past two games with hip soreness, it is becoming increasingly clear who will stand as the stand-in.
In each of the past two games, Max Strus has played all 12 minutes of the fourth quarter.
While there has been a split in those two, winning Wednesday against the visiting Sacramento Kings and losing Friday at the Indiana Pacers, Strus made his mark in each.