If the season ended today, Sam Merrill would certainly have a case to be the Most Improved Player Award winner. The wing has been unbelievable, putting up fantastic numbers to help jumpstart the injury-riddled Cleveland Cavaliers. Merrill has shown significant growth compared to his days with the Milwaukee Bucks, who selected him 60th overall in the 2020 NBA Draft.
Sam Merrill's growth has him in Most Improved Player discussion
In Cleveland's first four games, including one against Milwaukee, Merrill is averaging 17.3 points while shooting 51.4 percent from long distance. With Max Strus sidelined due to injury, Merrill has given the Cavaliers an unexpected shot in the arm. Of course, it's a small sample size, but these are heights that no one could have seen coming.
In fact, Merrill is currently tied for second in the NBA in 3-point makes this year. Who ranks first? None other than Stephen Curry, the league's greatest shooter. Whenever an outside shooter is mentioned in the same conversation as Curry, they are in good company. In his sixth NBA season, the wing is on the cusp of a significant breakout.
Merrill certainly didn't show this kind of promise early in Milwaukee, but no one expected him to do so. He was the final pick of his draft, and there simply wasn't room for him in a veteran-oriented rotation. He averaged just 7.8 minutes across 30 contests in his rookie season. He logged just 30 minutes of game action across Milwaukee's entire eventful championship run that season.
Following his rookie year, the Milwaukee Bucks traded a potential-filled shooter for a proven one, dealing Merrill and picks to the Memphis Grizzlies for Grayson Allen. There was no objection to the move, given that this team had question marks at shooting guard and that Allen had the shooting to be a great fit with Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Since then, it's been a grind for Merrill to get back to the NBA. Things didn't work out well in Memphis, so he went to the G League to rehab his value. After turning heads there, Merrill earned a shot to join the Cavaliers, and he's fully capitalized. His minutes have gone up in each of the past four seasons, and now, he's putting up fantastic numbers for Cleveland on a nightly basis.
Good for Sam Merrill. Unfortunate for the Milwaukee Bucks that his resurgence had to come on a team in their division.
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