Before opening the 2025 NBA Playoffs against the Miami Heat, you might’ve had to scroll far down the Cleveland Cavaliers’ depth chart to find Sam Merrill’s name. He’s not one of the Cavs’ headliners. He doesn’t generate flashy highlight reels or make postgame headlines. But in Game 1 of the Cavs’ playoff opener against the Miami Heat, Merrill showed that sometimes, the biggest impacts come from the quietest corners.
He made just two shots in 24 minutes. Nothing about his stat line screamed “difference-maker.” But that’s exactly what he was.
Cleveland's unexpected difference-maker
Merrill’s journey to this point has been long and winding. The last pick of his draft class, he’s been waived, rehabbing from ankle surgery, and grinding through the G League wilderness. Just two years ago, he was watching the postseason from the end of Cleveland’s bench, a uniform on his back but no chance to take the court. Even last spring, Merrill was more spectator than participant.
But during the Cavs’ pre-game introductions, in front of a roaring home crowd and to the tune of Aerosmith’s “Dream On” blaring through Rocket Arena, Merrill stood tall, not in stats, but in substance.
Cleveland’s 121–100 win over the Heat was a commanding performance from start to finish. The Cavs trailed for only 35 seconds. But for all the star power at Kenny Atkinson’s disposal between Mitchell, Garland, Mobley, and Allen, it was Merrill who logged the sixth-most minutes on the team, more than starters Max Strus and De’Andre Hunter. He even outpaced key rotation guys Isaac Okoro and Dean Wade combined.
Atkinson had a plan. He saw something the casual fan didn’t.
“I told the guys every game it’s going to be someone different,” Atkinson explained. “We had one group playing so well, and all of a sudden, Sam gets more minutes than he usually gets, and that affects everybody. That’s where my feel and their ability to sacrifice come in. There are teams in the playoffs that play eight guys, and that’s all. We have a little different philosophy. I think game to game, you’ll see, maybe besides the big four, minutes will change and fluctuate.”
Sam Merrill gave the Cavs a good feeling against the Heat
That “feel” meant trusting Merrill to guard Miami’s Tyler Herro, the Heat’s leading scorer and offensive engine. A year ago, that assignment would’ve seemed laughable. Herro’s quickness and scoring versatility were supposed to be too much for a shooter like Merrill, whose defensive reputation, fair or not, had always been the reason coaches hesitated.
“He doesn’t pass the eye test as a defender,” teammate Jarrett Allen said. “I mean, let’s just be honest. But every single play he’s out there, he’s fighting through screens, and his one-on-one defense against Andrew Wiggins a couple of days ago was excellent. I think he’s realizing he can be a great shooter like he is already and an excellent defender as well.
“He’s starting to unlock that for himself.”
In Game 1, Merrill didn’t just survive against Herro. He excelled. According to matchup data, Herro went scoreless in the possessions Merrill guarded him. Merrill also hounded Duncan Robinson and even stymied Davion Mitchell on a switch. The Heat tried to attack him. It didn’t work.
Atkinson’s decision to trust Merrill was no fluke. The numbers back it up: Cleveland’s defense is 3.7 points better per 100 possessions with Merrill on the floor. That’s second only to Mobley, who is in the running for Defensive Player of the Year.
“That’s not just the last game, that’s been the whole year,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said following Tuesday’s practice at Cleveland Clinic Courts. “I know teams try to bring him into the action. But we actually prefer when they do that.”
Sam Merrill's two-way impact kept Cleveland rolling
That confidence has been years in the making. After bouncing around and fighting for every opportunity, Merrill used this past offseason to bulk up and sharpen his instincts. He studied opponent tendencies, honed his footwork, and transformed himself into a true two-way contributor.
“It’s easy to look at me and think I can’t defend,” Merrill said pointedly. “Whatever. I get it. We’ve talked about it for a while. But I think if you tested my lateral quickness, I’d test out pretty good.
“Then also just understanding what guys want to do, understanding what shots we want defensively, being physical, trying to be physical without fouling, and then at the end of the day just having a lot of pride and a lot of heart. I think that’s what I’ve tried to pride myself on my whole career.”
Of course, it’s not just defense that makes Merrill valuable. He’s still a deadly shooter, one of the Cavs’ best, and in Game 1, he moved smartly without the ball, hit two of his four three-point attempts, and added four assists. His gravity pulls defenders, his screening creates space, and his decisions rarely waste possessions.
That’s the kind of player playoff teams covet. Not just shooters, but thinkers. Movers. Workers.
A key cog in the Cavs' title pursuit
It would’ve been easy, expected, even, for Atkinson to shorten his bench like most coaches do in the playoffs. But he didn’t. He played 10 guys and leaned into the Cavs’ depth, a sharp contrast to last year under J.B. Bickerstaff. Merrill, once on the fringes, now finds himself as a key cog in Cleveland’s title pursuit.
Will he play 24 minutes every night? Probably not. Matchups change. Rotations shrink. But if Sunday proved anything, it’s that Merrill can be trusted — not just to make shots, but to make winning plays.
As the Cavs march deeper into the postseason, opponents will try to target him. Let them. Merrill’s ready for that smoke.
“I’ll take that challenge,” said Merrill. “Whoever wants to go at me. I’m going to get scored on sometimes. Everyone gets scored on. Evan (Mobley) gets scored on occasionally, and he’s hopefully going to win Defensive Player of the Year. J.A. gets scored on. But I’m going to try and make life difficult for guys.”
