Sam Merrill is Ready for the Game 5 Opportunity at Home

It’s crazy: you start a season in late September with Media Day, Training Camp, Preseason, into eighty-two games. It’s all wide open. 

Then, the eight-month journey comes down to the best-of-three. 

That’s where the Cavaliers and Raptors find themselves heading into Wednesday’s matchup at Rocket Arena. Game 6 is set for Friday in Toronto. If push comes to shove, Game 7 is slated for Sunday back in Cleveland. Winner moves on. 

It’s been a mixed bag for the Cavs in the series. They won the first two games at home by double-figures, got jumped in the fourth quarter last Thursday in Game 3 and saw the home Raptors close Sunday’s contest on a 17-5 run. 

The good news is that the Wine & Gold still hold homecourt advantage. And they’ll have to flex that advantage on Wednesday night. 

Donovan Mitchell (31.0 PPG, 8-17 3PT, 6-8 FT) and James Harden (25.0 PPG, 53 percent, 7-15 3PT FG, 9-12 FT, 7.0 AST) were very good at home in the first two games of the series. Evan Mobley shot 77 percent from the floor, averaged 21.0 PPG and 7.5 RPG at home in Game 1 & 2. 

Max Strus had a big night off the bench in Game 1 (26 points), but the Raptors returned the favor in Game 2, with their second unit outscoring Cleveland’s, 48-19. And back in Toronto, rookie Collin Murray-Boyles continued to be the best bench player in the series, now averaging 17.0 PPG on 66 percent shooting, 7.3 RPG through the first four games. 

If the Cavaliers hope to hold home-serve, they’ll have to rely on a reserve (or two) to get in a groove and stay there. Strus? Jaylon Tyson (13pts in 15 minutes on Friday), Dennis Schröder (4-7 FG, 8 PTS, 5 REB on Sunday)? Or maybe Sam Merrill, who might’ve found his rhythm in Game 4 – finishing with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting, 3-of-7 from long-range. 

Merrill was even better down the stretch on Sunday, going 4-for-5 from the floor, 2-of-3 from deep in the fourth quarter, playing all but 10 seconds in the final period. And despite giving up four inches on Brandon Ingram, held the Raptors’ leading scorer in the regular season, Brandon Ingram, to 1-of-4 shooting over that same stretch. 

“(Sam) did it on both ends, right?” said Kenny Atkinson following Tuesday’s practice. “He kinda got into a flow there. We closed the game with him. That’s huge, especially on the road. You gotta make some shots. We were in the 91^st percentile in shot quality on threes last game. So, the process is right. We could still be better. But he’s a big part of us making shots, especially from three-point range."

The 6^th-year guard from Utah State talked about starting to find his rhythm just before Sunday’s strong outing. 

“I felt like, with the last couple games I made some shots, was feeling good, and then we had the long break,” said Merrill. “I took three (three-point) shots in Game 1. And then Game 2, honestly, I feel like I got unlucky on a couple shots. But I try not to overreact – through good or bad stretches. I've been in bad stretches before, and you know you're going to get out at some point.”

Merrill made good on his word, and he’ll try to carry that confidence over to Wednesday’s critical Game 5. Sunday’s 14-point outing matched a playoff high, reached in Game 2 last year against Indiana. He’s had six playoff outings as a Cavalier canning multiple three-pointers. 

During the regular season, the 29-year-old – who won a ring with Milwaukee as a rookie – averaged career-highs across the board, averaging 12.8 PPG in 52 appearances, 38 of them as a starter. He shot .421 from beyond the arc, 11-best mark in the league. 

Coming off the bench “really doesn't matter, like, from an ego standpoint, but it's an adjustment for sure,” said Merrill, who started three postseason games last year. “It's different. But I've come off the bench plenty in my life and in my career. You gotta figure out how to get back into that rhythm pretty quickly.” 

Wednesday’s Game 5 will be Merrill’s 23 playoff game as a Cavalier. He’s upped his scoring average in each of his four postseason runs. 

Merrill recalled playoff beginnings with Cleveland – the 10-game run that ended in the Conference Semifinals in Boston. 

“I think I remember my first one, I played a few minutes against Orlando in Game 1 and I don't know if I did anything good or bad, but everything was going pretty fast. The physicality is ramped up, obviously. And I think one issue guys have is that you can feel like everything is so amplified. I think guys sometimes are worried to make mistakes. So, you almost don't play the way that you know you're capable of playing. It’s kind of an adjustment.”

Merrill’s been good all year, and he’s capable of erupting at any time. He canned 18 three-pointers through the first four games of the regular season, hit at least four triples in 21 games, including five straight. In a mid-February home win over Washington, he went off for a career-best 32 points, going 9-of-10 from three-point range. 

Wednesday night will be another home opportunity. He’s a different player than the little-used reserve who went 0-for-2 against Orlando four seasons ago, and not afraid of the big shot.

“Those first couple games, there's the jitters for everybody – and it’s fun,” said Merrill, the final pick of the 2020 Draft by Milwaukee. “It's exciting. And I think physically I'm in a much better place than I've been in the past, conditioning-wise, and strength-wise. I’m able to handle the physicality. And I feel like I'm in a pretty good spot.”