Factory Of Sadness
FanSided

Every in-house player that could start at small forward for the Cleveland Cavaliers

By Chad Porto

Nov 30, 2022; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Caris LeVert (3) stands on the court in the first quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 30, 2022; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Caris LeVert (3) stands on the court in the first quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /
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CLEVELAND, OH – APRIL 09: Sam Merrill #5 of the Cleveland Cavaliers shoots the ball over Bryce McGowens #7 of the Charlotte Hornets during the game at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on April 9, 2023 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Hornets beat the Cavaliers 106-95. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Lauren Leigh Bacho/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH – APRIL 09: Sam Merrill #5 of the Cleveland Cavaliers shoots the ball over Bryce McGowens #7 of the Charlotte Hornets during the game at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on April 9, 2023 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Hornets beat the Cavaliers 106-95. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Lauren Leigh Bacho/Getty Images) /

Sam Merrill

It’s really hard to evaluate Sam Merrill as he’s really never been given a chance in the NBA. He’s only played in 41 games in his career, and only five of them with Cleveland. When he got reps in Milwaukee, he played better, but he didn’t see that much time on the court. So even then we can’t really see that we saw a lot out of him.

He may be a great shooter just waiting for his shot at some significant minutes, and we have reason to believe that’s possible During his time with Utah State, Merrill had shooting splits of .470/.420/.891 for his career. He was able to score from all three levels at Utah State and took Utah State from 17-17 in his freshmen year to 26-8 in his senior year.

They likely would’ve been one of the better college teams in the NCAA Tournament that year, had it not been canceled. Merrill was even dubbed one of the coldest shooters by NBC Sports due to his success in the Mountain West Tournament.

In fact, the only knock on Merrill coming out of college was his age (24), which was due to him serving two years on a Mormon mission and his lack of a vertical game. But if he can shoot (he can) and play defense (he can), then what’s the problem?

Merrill’s untested but maybe giving him a real shot wouldn’t be the worst idea.

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