Did anyone see Sam Merrill become the hero of Game 7?
The best playoff games are when all the stars come out to play, but some of the most memorable belong to the role players. James Posey’s play, or Bismack Biyombo’s rebounding dominance, or Shane Battier’s play.
The Cleveland Cavaliers had one of their own in Game 7 on Sunday night. On the road against the No. 1 seed, the Cavs looked like clear favorites. With James Harden seemingly safe to play poorly since it was a Game 7 (that turned out to be true, as he was just 2-for-10), would the Cavs have a role player to step up?
It was Sam Merrill’s game.
They sure did, and he was the player no one expected. Our own Caleb Crowley thought it was worth benching Merrill to give Max Strus and Dean Wade more minutes.
Sam Merrill proceeded to score 23 points, hitting seven of his 10 field goals and hitting five three-pointers. He was also active on defense, with a steal, a drawn charge and multiple sequences in which he stood up to Detroit’s dribblers. He was key in a two-way effort that downed the Detroit Pistons 125-94.
He was unconscious from deep, even making a 4-point play at one point. He was lethal from the corners, dodging closeouts as Detroit became increasingly desperate on defense. It’s hard to have a better game as a gunner off the bench than Merrill had in Game 7.
That most shocking part? Just 10 months ago, no one wanted Merrill except the Cavaliers.
Nobody wanted Sam Merrill
Mr. Irrelevant in the 2020 NBA Draft, the 60th pick played a single season with both Milwaukee and Memphis before coming to the Cavaliers in 2022.
After one season in the G League, Merrill began to work his way into the rotation. He played 61 games at 17.5 minutes per game; that increased to 71 games at 19.7 minutes per game. Ultimately, he played in 52 games, including 38 starts, and played 26.5 minutes per game last season.
The only reason Merrill is available to play for the Cavaliers is because no one wanted to give him a strong contract offer to leave Cleveland. They were hard-pressed to offer him a substantial contract given his concerns about the second fiscal apron.
Merrill is in for a bargain deal
Instead, what they did was offer him a modest four-year contract and challenge him to find a better option on the open market. When such a deal did not materialize, he stayed with the Cavaliers on a contract worth just $46 million over four years.
Many wings got big deals in free agency. Nickeil Alexander-Walker signed for twice what Merrill signed. So did Duncan Robinson, reduced to unimportant minutes for Detroit in Game 7. Luke Kennard makes $11 million. Davion Mitchell $12. Caris LeVert $14.5.
Merrill made just $8.5 million this season and will average $9.5 over the life of the contract. He’s an absolute steal for a player who can make moves, attack closeouts, and hold his own on defense. It could be one of the best contracts in the NBA in a couple of years.
Many teams with more financial flexibility could have swooped in and signed Merrill to a larger contract. Nobody did it. That allowed the Cavaliers to bring him back, empower him to play a larger role and let his talent speak for itself.
Nobody wanted it. Now everyone knows their names.
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