Cavs guard Sam Merrill’s monster game draws ‘simple’ Donovan Mitchell mic drop

Asked continuously about why his team has all of a sudden found a groove, Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson repeatedly kept bringing up one person. Not coincidentally, Cavs All-Star Donovan Mitchell looked at the same guy: Sam Merrill.

Put aside the fact that he scored 22 points on 6-of-10 from long distance in a 141-118 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. It’s the little things Merrill does that are magnified.

“It’s really as simple as pointing in his direction,” Mitchell told ClutchPoints in his postgame media scrum.

“I don’t want to give him too much credit, right? I keep saying it, but it seems that way,” Atkinson said before Cleveland’s second-straight win. “He connects. He connects the game. He connects pieces.”

Merrill’s skill set is vast, going beyond the shooting piece that everybody else sees. He is all over both ends of the court, in constant motion, and consistently giving the ball energy. It’s hard to believe that one player can be the difference between stagnancy and flow, but Mitchell senses it right away. While Merrill is the Cavs’ top gunner, his true impact is loosening the floor for everybody else to eat.

“It’s like, where do you choose?” Mitchell said to ClutchPoints. “Do you double me? They started a game in the blitz, you hit JA [Jarrett Allen], now what? Do you throw it to Sam? Do you throw it to me in the corner? You’ve just got to make decisions. It’s like, do you give up to Sam? Do you give up to me? Do you give up to DG? Like, what are you doing?

“Jaylon Tyson’s shooting at a phenomenal level, DG [Darius Garland]’s shooting at a phenomenal level, Dean Wade’s starting to find and get back to his shot, Dre [Hunter]. So now, it’s opening it up for everybody else and guys are getting clearer looks because it’s like, ‘Oh damn, I’ve got to run to Sam Merrill. Oh damn, I’ve got run to Don or Darius,’ you know what I’m saying?”

Atkinson put Merrill in the starting lineup on Tuesday thanks to assistant Mike Gerrity’s plea. Noting his defensive prowess and allowing the Cavs to put Tyson with the second unit, the decision paid dividends. Even Cleveland’s collaborative efforts on the glass were noticeable.

“I thought our energy was better, and I thought we rebounded as a team, we’re not just relying on JA. I swear, Sam, I don’t want to make this guy [the sole focus], but he does [a lot]. He’s so much more than a shooter. I just hope everybody’s seeing that. I don’t know how many boards he had, but he’s boxing out, he’s tough as nails. You need tough guys to rebound, and that’s a big part of it.”

Merrill nabbed six rebounds and dished out seven assists on Tuesday, and he had five helpers in the Cavs’ win over the Charlotte Hornets on Monday. This team has recorded 76 assists on 104 field-goal makes in 48 hours of basketball. In the points column, Cleveland scored 139 and 141 points in its last two games on terrific efficiency.

“I mean, it’s obvious out there,” Craig Porter Jr. said. “Even when he’s not getting the ball, you have to respect him. It opens up so much space for everybody else to just operate. I mean, it’s evident. I mean, he’s the player he is because he draws that attention, and he can shoot lights out. So it’s just a nightmare for defenses.”

“It gives us a different dynamic out there on the offensive [end], especially because he brings so much attention for his shooting and his playmaking ability that people don’t really talk about as much,” Thomas Bryant added. “He gives us a great dynamic. He’s a threat out there and, you know, I really appreciate him. I know our guys out here appreciate him as much as well, too.”

If it isn’t obvious by his teammates’ words, Merrill is a critical part of the motion in both the half-court and the open floor.

“He’s running. He’s just causing chaos out there,” Atkinson said pregame. “And that just opens up space, and then we can throw the ball to space. I know you probably look at his stats [Monday], you’re like, ‘Eh, okay game.’ And I don’t know if we win that game, honestly, if he doesn’t play. That’s how important he is to us.

“And then the defensive end, he had a couple stops, like firming up in the post, toughness, activity. I’m just pinching myself that we committed to him and signed him to a well-deserved contract. Huge for us going forward.”

Atkinson shared that Merrill was a “super high priority” for the Cavs this offseason, and he pushed for the front office to bring him back. There are still steps to take, like being a more vocal leader. Still, it’s the cultural and stylistic fits that stand out to him and the organization, and Merrill is in “the elite bucket” regarding how he takes care of himself and his body.

“He’s the type, when I watch him work out, it reminds me of Steph [Curry],” Atkinson said. “They work so hard. They do everything at game speed. He’s one of those rare guys. He’s been out for a long time, but you’re like, ‘He can go 40 [minutes].’ That’s how hard he works, and his on-court work is just amazing, the speed he goes at. So everything’s game speed, and boom, it just translates.”

Having Merrill out there “changes the game,” Mitchell states. “It’s just his know-how, his feel. It does make a difference, but I don’t want to put all that pressure on him because we still need to be the team we need to be, even if he’s out or Max is out or I’m out or DG, whatever it is.”

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