What we learned this week: Sam Merrill looks like his old self
The Cavs continue to outscore teams with their incredible offense.
The Cleveland Cavaliers took care of business in both of their games this past week as they escaped with a narrow victory over the Utah Jazz and then ran away with a lopsided win against the Denver Nuggets. Here’s what we learned from both.
Sam Merrill might’ve rediscovered his three-point shot
The Cavs currently have six rotation players shooting 40% or better from distance. Merrill isn’t one of them.
Coming into this week he was connecting on just 32.3% of his triples. That isn’t what we expected to see from someone who spent stretches of last year being the best sharpshooters in the league.
Merrill returned to form this week. He went 4-5 from three in the third quarter against Utah to buoy an offense that had an uncharacteristically off night until then. He finished with his first 20-point showing of the season on 6-11 shooting from deep. Merrill followed that performance up with a solid 3-4 night in Denver.
Kenny Atkinson has shown incredible faith in Merrill even through his prolonged slump. His minutes haven’t wavered even though you could make an argument that they should. It’s only two consecutive good games, but we know the type of run he can get on if he gets going. The Cavs are hoping that this is the start of one of those extended hot stretches.
Evan Mobley is a stretch-four
It’s hard to believe how far Mobley has come as a shooter this season. He’s already attempted 11 more triples this year than he did in the previous one despite playing 21 more games. On top of the volume, he’s knocking them down at a 43.7% clip. That was on display this week as he went a combined 7-11 from distance in the two wins.
At some point, teams won’t be able to leave him open like they have been.
Mobley has taken the leap this season. His consistent incremental improvements in all areas have culminated in him becoming an entirely different player now than he was last season. This is seen in how he attacks mismatches, operates as a ball handler, and has proven to hold up as a center on defense. The shooting is just the icing on top.
Mobley’s ceiling seemed limitless during his rookie season. The immediate impact he made on both ends is why the Cavs made the trade for Donovan Mitchell in the ensuing offseason. That progress seemed to stall out as he didn’t take the consistent steps forward as a scorer. Those steady advancements that didn’t amount to meaningful differences on the stat sheet are now bearing fruit.
The Cavs offense is on another level
Great offenses feel inevitable. There’s nothing you can do to truly stop them, you just have to slow them down enough and hope that you can keep up.
The Cavs' attack felt that way in their win in Denver. The Nuggets kept pace with 38-first quarter points but fell off in the second when Nikola Jokic went to the bench. They were outscored by 13 in that frame which proved to be too much to come back from.
Cleveland’s offense is layered. They don’t beat you with just outside shooting, getting to the basket, and playing fast. It’s also not their All-Star guards or emerging front-court superstar that’s leading the way. It’s all of those things coming together that make them truly unstoppable.
There’s a conversation to be had about how good this team is. They’re currently on a 71-win pace which would be the third-best in league history. That will likely slow down, but it does speak to just how incredible they’ve been. The offense is the main reason why.
Cleveland leads the league in three-point shooting, effective field-goal percentage, and half-court offensive rating. Additionally, they're second in points added in transition, are third in turnover percentage, and attempt the sixth most shots at the rim. You’d be hard-pressed to dream up a better, realistic offensive profile.
There will always be questions about whether this can hold up in the playoffs until they prove it on the court. But there’s nothing we’ve seen from the regular season that would make you believe it won’t.
The Cavs are simply an offensive juggernaut.