CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers will be without the services of sharpshooter Sam Merrill in their matchup against the defending champion New York Knicks on Saturday evening. Merrill suffered a right elbow injury that caused him to miss the second half of Friday’s win over the Philadelphia 76ers. As of now, the severity of the injury is unknown.
“I noticed it (the injury) duringthe game last night, there’s something not right,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said on Saturday. “Of course, Sam said ‘I’m
fine, I’m fine,’ and then he wasn’t fine.”
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This has been a difficult start to the season for Merrill. He’s struggled to find his three-point shot as he’s connecting on 32.6% from distance so far. How much of that slump is due to an injured shoulder is unknown. What the Cavs do know now, is that missing Merrill for an extended period would be an issue for the Cavs.
“Of course there’s a level of concern there,” Atkinson said. “He’s the ultimate connector for the Cavs. You know our record without him last year was not good. Him and J.A. (Jarrett Allen), those guys connect the game for us so hopefully it won’t be too long.”
Last season, the Cavs did struggle without Merrill. They were just 15-15 in games he didn’t play last season and 37-15 when he did play.
Saturday’s contest against the Knicks will be the first game Merrill has missed this season. Merrill has averaged 7.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.9 assists on .386/.326/.917 shooting splits in nine games.
