Cavaliers $62,297,040 guard who 'did not show up' gets brutally trolled for putting up a brick house in Game 5

NBA fans trolled a Cleveland Cavaliers player for not "showing up" in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Tuesday. Max Strus went scoreless in 26 minutes after the broadcast team revealed his motivational message to his teammates before the game.

TNT's Jared Greenberg reported on the pregame show that Strus sent a group text saying, "If you don’t believe, don’t show up for work." It was done to pump up the team ahead of their must-win matchup against Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers.

Strus, who signed a $62.3 million contract in 2023, wanted his team to be ready and not lose hope about the series being over. However, the 29-year-old guard went 0-for-9 in Game 5 and scored zero points, as the Cavs were eliminated following a 114-105 loss.

Due to his message to the Cleveland Cavaliers before the game and then going missing when his team needed him the most, Max Strus received the wrath of fans online. He was at the mercy of trolls who made fun of his pregame motivational text.

"That's why role players gotta stay in their lane," a fan wrote.

"Why is this coming from a role player and not the stars?" one fan asked.

"Bro didn't believe," another commented.

"More proof that belief isn't enough in sports," a fan tweeted.

"Cleveland gonna Cleveland no matter what sport," one fan claimed.

"At least he lead by example," another remarked.

The Cleveland Cavaliers had a great start to Game 5, building a 19-point lead. However, the Indiana Pacers battled back, led by Tyrese Haliburton, who scored 31 points after going scoreless in the first quarter. Donovan Mitchell played through an ankle sprain to finish with 35 points.

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Charles Barkley might have a crush on Cavaliers guard

Before Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers, the crew of Charles Barkley, Jalen Rose, Dwight Howard and Ernie Johnson discussed the keys to winning.

Rose pointed out how the bigs for the Cavs have been disappointing before Barkley made a hilarious comment about Max Strus.

"You know, it's interesting, I don't know if anyone is noticing, but Max Strus is a good-looking man," Barkley. "When they showed that dude, I was like, 'Damn! That's a good-looking man.'"

It's not the first time Barkley has expressed his admiration for the looks of a fellow man. He has a man-crush on Tom Brady, who had "Sir Charles" nearly speechless a few times.