The Cleveland Cavaliers could be seeing the return of one of their key bench players. Sam Merrill, who has missed the team’s last five games with a right-hand sprain, is listed as questionable for Monday’s game against the Orlando Magic.
Merrill has been dealing with a hand sprain for much of the season. He injured it originally in a November win against the Milwaukee Bucks. This resulted in him missing just over a month of games. When he did return to the lineup, he wasn’t pain-free, as head coach
Kenny Atkinson said at the time that he couldn’t even shake Merrill’s hand after games due to the pain he was in.
Merrill injured his hand again in the team’s Jan. 14 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. That’s the same game in which Darius Garland injured his other toe.
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We don’t have any further updates on Garland’s injury beyond what the team released last Sunday. The Cavs said that Garland would be reevaluated in seven to 10 days after suffering a Grade 1 right great toe sprain. That initial timeframe would put the reevaluation happening anytime between now and Wednesday.
Even though the Cavs won’t be fully healthy for their game against the Magic, it would be beneficial to possibly get Merrill back in the lineup. Merrill has the third-best on/off differential on the team this season (+4.7 points per 100 possessions, 75th percentile). They’re 16-8 in the games he’s played.
On the season, Merrill is averaging 13.8 points on .470/.455/.882 shooting splits.
The Magic will once again be without their leading scorer, Franz Wagner (ankle), in Monday’s rematch.
