The Cavaliers are making a change to their starting lineup ahead of Monday’s do-or-die Game 4 vs. New York, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, who reports that Max Strus will replace Dean Wade at small forward.
As Fedor notes, while Wade has been in Cleveland’s starting five for most of the team’s playoff run, head coach Kenny Atkinson has turned to Strus multiple times as Wade’s replacement. This will be Strus’ fourth start of the 2026 postseason after he previously got the starting nod in Games 5 and 6 of the first-round series vs. Toronto and Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against Detroit. Cleveland went 2-1 in those three games.
After blowing a 22-point fourth-quarter lead in Game 1 and eventually losing in overtime, the Cavaliers proceeded to drop Games 2 and 3 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Knicks. They enter Monday’s game in a 3-0 hole and are on the brink of elimination for the third time this playoff run after each of their first two series went the full seven games.
Strus, who didn’t make his 2025/26 season debut until mid-March following offseason foot surgery, has averaged 9.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 27.0 minutes per game in 17 playoff appearances this spring. His shooting slash line over that span is .409/.363/.917, but he has struggled thus far against New York, averaging 8.7 PPG on .280/.333/1.000 shooting splits.
Wade, who’s known for his solid defense, has averaged 4.6 PPG and 4.1 RPG on .469/.383/.333 shooting in 17 playoff games (23.2 MPG). The poor free throw percentage is a little misleading, since he has made one of his three attempts.
In other news ahead of Game 4, the Cavs have ruled out veteran point guard Dennis Schröder due to an illness, Fedor writes for Cleveland.com. The 32-year-old German was initially listed as questionable before being downgraded.
“Willing to take more risks,” Atkinson said. “Talked about playing more guys, trying some new tactics. I think your risk meter could go up because you got to try to find something to break their momentum.”
“Kenny Atkinson benching Dean Wade for no apparent reason to put Strus in when Wade was never the issue to begin with”
Not sure about Wade vs Strus, but Schroeder not playing is definitely an improvement to the Cavs’ chances. All he’s done is run into defensive traps and give the ball away.