Is Sam Merrill ready to suit up for the Cleveland Cavaliers? Not quite. The sharpshooting guard will miss his 13th game in a row against the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday due his hand injury.
Merrill joins Evan Mobley (calf), Max Strus (foot), and Larry Nance Jr. (calf) on the list of players all confirmed to be out against the Bulls. Despite that disappointing news, things are not all bad for the Cavaliers on the injury front with their two-way guard.
Kenny Atkinson told Danny Cunningham that Merrill has been progressing through his recovery. His on-court rehab has involved a lot of shooting drills and activities. However, the 29-year-old has yet to participate with any sort of contact for now.
Injuries have been a constant for the Cavaliers in 2025-26. It's one of the main reasons Cleveland has stumbled out of the gates with a 15-12 record. Merrill is not quite in a position to help aid in the turnaround just yet. When that time does come, the Cavs will happily welcome what he can bring.
Sam Merrill's return will provide the two-way play Cavaliers sorely miss
Merrill has been the best 3-point shooter for the Cavaliers when factoring in the percentages and the volume. For Cleveland, who are brutally inefficient with that shot this season, that is someone they want back in the lineup.
Jaylon Tyson has a better percentage (46.5) than Merrill does this season, but that comes with far fewer attempts (4.5). Donovan Mitchell has made more triples on average (4.0 per game), but the Cavs star is also hoisting more (10.6 attempts a night) and connecting at a worse rate (38.1 percent).
Merrill has hit an incredible 44.4 percent from beyond the arc this season, while making 3.7 of his 8.3 attempts per game. The wide array of how the Cavs guard is able to get those shots off and position himself for quality looks is guaranteed to be a massive offensive boost.
His defense should provide a helpful kick in the can for the team too.
The Cavaliers have a top-10 defense on the whole of 2025-26, ranking 9th in the NBA at present. However, their defensive rating has slipped in the last 12 games which Merrill has missed.
That 113.2 rating which has them 9th on the year involves them posting a mark of 113.9 over these past 12 matchups. The latter is closer to the middle of the pack, ranking 14th in the NBA for the stretch.
Merrill is a strong point-of-attack defender. For a team that has everyone begging for legitimate signs of contention, getting an elite role player back will go a long way when it finally happens.