Sam Merill did something for the first time in his career during the Cleveland Cavaliers' victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.
Just over three years ago to the day, the Cleveland Cavaliers signed Sam Merrill to a multi-year contract.
At the time, there was no clear path to playing time or a role for the guard on Cleveland’s roster. At his best, Merrill looked like he could provide some shooting off the bench in a niche role with the team.
Now, in Merrill’s fourth season with the Wine and Gold, he’s proving what the Cavaliers saw in him years ago and the player he’s blossomed into since joining the organization.
All of that can be summed up perfectly in Cleveland’s recent 111-106 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday evening.
Merill finished the game with 15 points while shooting 55 percent (five-for-nine) from the floor and connecting on 42 percent (three-for-seven) of his shots from behind the arc. But where Merrill really stood out is with playmaking, finishing with 10 rebounds.
With the 15 points and 10 rebounds, Merrill finished with a double-double for the first time in his NBA career.
“First of his career. He just told me, so that guy is on it,” joked Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson after the game.
Atkinson pointed out that some of those rebounds came in key moments during the fourth quarter, and Merrill even had some tip-backs to his players, too, which helped give the Cavaliers second-chance opportunities.
During Cleveland’s fourth-quarter comeback, Merrill had five rebounds.
Mar 21, 2026; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Saddiq Bey (41) shoots against Cleveland Cavaliers guard Sam Merrill (5) and forward Dean Wade (32) during the first half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images“We obviously didn’t shoot the ball well, and that possession, we were plus in the possession game, which when you’re not shooting it, you got to win the possesion game,” explained Cleveland’s head coach, and Merrill helped the Cavaliers do just that.
Overall on the season, Merrill is averaging a clean 2.0 rebounds a game, which is also a career high for the guard. Rebounding may not be a big part of the guard’s overall game, but he showed he can grab a timely board on Saturday, which came up clutch considering the Cavaliers are still without Jarrett Allen.
If anything, this first career double-double is a perfect representation of the player that Merrill has grown into with the Cavaliers. He signed primarily as a sharpshooter, and now Merrill is considered a complete player whom Cleveland relies on in more ways than one.
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