When the Cleveland Cavaliers are without one or both of Sam Merrill and Dean Wade, the team struggles to fill their specific roles. From Merrill's movement away from the ball and shooting to Dean Wade's size and savvy guarding ability on the wings, the wine and gold have to figure out ways to overcome not having them available.

In the latest episode of Courtside with Cavs, Spencer German and I had a conversation regarding the squad's inconsistencies being correlated to Merrill and Wade's sporadic injury issues:

"We know that they can do it. The problem, for me, is that they have to have the perfect setting and perfect situation in order to do it. They're so dependent on Dean Wade. They're so dependent on Sam Merrill to be healthy. I understand that a team is a sum of its parts, but for those two in particular, it's like they're overreliant on their role players, which is really odd.

"You think you would have a team that would struggle if Donovan Mitchell's out or if Darius Garland is out, but it's these guys like Sam and Dean. When Jaylon Tyson was out for that four-game stretch earlier this year, they struggled. They are dependent on them. Jarrett [Allen] said it: If 6-15 can do it, then why can't 1-5? The reason they've had their issues for the majority of the year has been the starting group."

The Cavs are set to play the Philadelphia 76ers for the second time in three days at Xfinity Mobile Arena on the road, without Merrill and Darius Garland. After that, they will return home and have back-to-back days off for the first time in three weeks.

Cleveland will next host the reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder in a matinee affair at Rocket Arena on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Watch the latest full episode of Courtside with Cavs, and remember to subscribe to our CavsRoundtable YouTube channel for more coverage of the Cavaliers through the 2025-26 NBA season.

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