Although the Cleveland Cavaliers have been dealing with injuries all season, some bright spots have shined through the murkiness. The best example is Sam Merill, who bounced around the NBA and G League before carving out a spot with the Cavs last season.
For the longest time, Merrill never really played for Cleveland. But that all changed when the Cavs were bombarded with injuries, forcing head coach J.B. Bickerstaff to leave no stone unturned. Eventually, Bickerstaff turned to Merrill, who showcased that he could be a reliable, consistent three-point shooting threat despite his previous lack of regular playing time with Cleveland.
Every time the Cavs turned to Merrill, they typically got the same results, with his scoring playing a part in nearly snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. Although Cleveland dropped the ball in this 118-111 loss to the Charlotte Hornets, Merrill spearheaded the effort to keep the Cavs alive all game. By the time the final buzzer sounded, Merrill had finished the game with 17 points on 5-11 shooting—with all of those attempts coming from three-point range—to go along with three rebounds, two assists and one steal.
Sam Merrill was Cavs' X-factor against Hornets
While the counting stats are impressive from a pure three-point shooting aspect, it doesn't fully crystalize how impactful Merrill was in this game for Cleveland. Whenever he didn't have the ball in his hands, the pure threat of Merrill on the perimeter was more than enough to pick apart what Charlotte had schemed up defensively.
Players like Steph Curry typically command that kind of attention purely from their three-point gravity. Now, that's not to say Merrill is on the same level as Curry. It's completely disingenuous to compare anyone to the greatest shooter ever. But the way Merrill stretches defenses through his constant movement unlocks things for the Cavs on offense, even if he's not scoring from the perimeter.
Wherever Merrill is, defenses have to pay attention to him. His presence opens up the floor for bigs like Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley to deal with less pressure on the interior. It empowers Darius Garland, Georges Niang, Isaac Okoro and Max Strus on the perimeter. Although they lost to Charlotte on the road, Cleveland must to continue to lean on Merrill's gravity as the team gets healthier—especially when the playoffs start.
When the postseason begins and the games start to matter most, guys like Merrill can be an X-factor that helps decide a series. Even if he gets just 10 or so minutes per game, if his shot is falling from the perimeter and opposing defenses are overcommitting to him, it's a recipe for success for the Cavs.
That recipe is something Cleveland could use, especially with how inconsistent they've been after the All-Star break. As simple as Merrill's effect might seem, it can unlock so much for the Cavs on offense, particularly when they're less than full-strength. So, if Cleveland is still hamstrung once they get to the playoffs, at least they know they have someone they can lean on to help jumpstart the offense in Merrill.
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