The Cleveland Cavaliers have struggled to begin the 2025-26 season, after finishing with the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference last year.
Amid their struggles, the Cavaliers have had some of their key contributors miss plenty of games due to injury. Evan Mobley and Darius Garland have missed extended time, while Max Strus has yet to suit up for Cleveland this season.
Additionally, Sam Merrill just returned from injury Monday against the Charlotte Hornets. Although Merrill isn't a household name, his return has sparked a resurgence in the Cavaliers offense.
In back-to-back games after Merrill returned, the Cavaliers scored 139 points Monday and 141 Tuesday, their second and third highest scoring games of the season.
In Monday's game, Cleveland shot a whopping 55% from three-point range, defeating Charlotte behind 30 points from Donovan Mitchell.
Tuesday's game saw similar efficiency, as Cleveland shot 41% from deep in a 23-point win against the New Orleans Pelicans. Mitchell scored a game-high 27 points while Merrill added 22 points on 6-for-10 shooting from deep to go along with seven assists and six rebounds.
Following the game, Donovan Mitchell was asked: "Can one guy really make that much of a difference to loosen things up?" He had this to say in response: "Yeah, I think, it's really as simple as pointing in his direction."
Mitchell went on to elaborate how Merrill being available in the corner opens up opportunities to score when the defense double-teams him on drives.
With Cleveland currently ranking 21st in 3P%, they'll be happy to have Sam Merrill back healthy as they look to climb up the Eastern Conference standings.
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