It was bound to happen at some point. Sam Merrill had been the Cleveland Cavaliers and NBA's hottest shooter for months, but now he finds himself in the first true shooting slump of his career.
All of this comes as fans begged J.B. Bickerstaff and the coaching staff to give Sam more minutes. An increase in playing time is what he got, but not an increase in production. Merrill played 21.8 minutes per game in the last four contests and is averaging just 4.5 points and is shooting 16% (5-30) from behind the arc.
A lot of shots are going up, but not a lot are going in.
Now isn't the time to panic or worry that Merrill isn't the three-point specialist everyone believed he was just a few weeks ago. The Cavs are in a difficult spot as a team and Merrill's slump could be a byproduct of that.
One of the key reasons that Merrill has seen so much more playing time is because of the injuries the Cavaliers are navigating. Donovan Mitchell, Max Strus, and Evan Mobley remain sidelined with separate injuries and none of them have a clear path to a return.
This is putting more pressure on Merrill to be a focal point of the offense and make up for the scoring void. Together the injured trio combines for 59 points a game. Plus, with Mitchell, Mobley, and Strus out, defenses are putting a higher emphasis on taking away Merrill's opportunities.
It's also not a total shock that Merrill has hit a cold patch. Every shooter goes through streaks of hot and stretches of cold and that comes with being a sharpshooter. It just so happens this slump coincides with Cleveland's injury bug.
The worst thing Merrill can do now is stop putting up shots. His confidence is one of the main reasons he found himself as a key contributor to the team. At this point, the best way for him to get out of the slump is to shoot his way out of it.
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