Cavs' Sam Merrill Has No Fear

Originally posted on Cleveland Cavaliers on SI
By Tommy Wild | Last updated Jan 3, 2024 9:52 AM ET

Confidence is key if you're going to be an elite knockdown, three-point shooter in the NBA.

Sam Merrill has emerged over the last few weeks as a legit deep threat on this Cleveland Cavaliers roster. As he continues to get more playing time, conviction is his shot clearly something he isn't lacking. He has no fear of letting the ball fly when he touches the court.

Whenever Merrill steps on the floor he's shooting the ball in bunches. He's currently averaging 17.6 three-pointers attempted per 100 possessions. That's more than some of the game's best and well-rebounded shooters such as Steph Curry (16.2 attempts), Tim Hardaway Jr. (14.7), Luka Doncic (13.6), and Buddy Hield (13.0).

This is just one piece of the equation though. Anyone can step onto the court and heave deep shots at will. Merrill on the other hand is shooting them at a high volume while still knocking them down at an efficient rate.

He's currently shooting 43% from the floor and connecting on 44% of his three attempts.

J.B. Bickerstaff described Merrill's ability as a weapon on the offensive side of the ball.

"Teams have to defend him and chase him in a certain way," said Bickerstaff. "He's a guy who creates a ton of gravity. So even if he's not the one who gets the shot, people are paying attention to him, and then he can go and guys on the weak side or strong side can go and attack or be aggressive with less help."

At some point, the Cavs are going to be back at full strength. However, Merrill has earned a spot in the rotation if he keeps shooting at this level.

This article first appeared on Cleveland Cavaliers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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