Strus trolls Boston fans by wearing Panthers jerseys in Celtics-Cavs Game 5 originally appeared in NBC Sports Boston
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Max Strus hopes his team can do what the Florida Panthers did to a Boston team last season: win a playoff series after going down 3-1.
The Panthers trailed the favored Boston Bruins 3-1 in the first round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and they managed the turnaround by winning the last three games of the series, including Games 5 and 7 in Boston (the B’s and Panthers are currently playing each other in the second round of the 2024 playoffs).
The Cavaliers lose to the Boston Celtics 3-1 in the Eastern Conference semifinals entering Game 5 at TD Garden on Wednesday night. Not only are the Celtics a more talented and deeper team than the Cavs, but Cleveland could also be without its best player, Donovan Mitchell, for the second game in a row. He is supposedly not expected to play in Game 5 due to calf injury.
The odds are stacked against the Cavs, but that didn’t stop Strus — who played for the Miami Heat the previous three seasons — from walking into the Garden wearing a Panthers jersey.
Chicago native Max Strus walks into TD Garden (down 3-1) wearing a Florida Panthers jersey after losing to the Boston Bruins last night. pic.twitter.com/2VDoDQUHFb
– Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) May 15, 2024
Caleb Martin also wore a Panthers jersey at TD Garden for Game 5 of the Miami Heat’s first round series against the Celtics a few weeks ago. The C’s led the series 3-1 and eliminated the Heat with a dominant 34-point victory.
in the building
Playoff coverage // @starrylemonlime pic.twitter.com/KKzoxpJ9JB
– Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) May 1, 2024
Strus had his best performance of the Celtics-Cavs series in Game 4, when he scored 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting from 3-point range, along with seven rebounds, seven assists and two steals.
The Cavaliers will likely need a similar effort from Strus in Game 5 to extend the series to Game 6 in Cleveland.
