$Signed a three-year, $5.01 million contract with the Cavaliers in March of 2023.
Personal Bio/PreCareer Summary
Sam Merrill was born on May 15, 1996 in Bountiful, Utah. The son of John and Jenny Merrill, Sam has one older sister, Molli. At Bountiful High School, Merrill was a three-year starter and a two-time All-State selection. As a sophomore, he averaged 6.5 points and 2.6 assists per game. As a junior, Merrill broke out with 18.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 2.2 steals per contest. On his way to leading Bountiful to the Utah 4A state title, Merrill posted 15.8 points, 7.4 rebounds and 4.6 rebounds per game as a senior. Merrill served a two-year LDS Church mission in Nicaragua from 2014 to 2016. He turned down offers from Stanford and Princeton to attend Utah State University. Merrill graduated with a degree in business administration. Fans can follow the Utah State product on Twitter @smerrill05. Prior to his freshman year at Utah State, Merrill completed a two-year Latter-Day Saints mission to Nicaragua. When he returned to school, Merrill averaged 9.4 points per game as a freshman. As a sophomore, Merrill improved his scoring average to 16.3 points per game and was named to the All-Mountain West Third Team. Merrill averaged 20.9 points per game as a junior, adding 4.2 assists and 3.9 rebounds. He led Utah State to the Mountain West Tournament title and was named the Mountain West Player of the Year, as well as the Mountain West Tournament MVP. Merrill captured both awards a second time as a senior, while also eclipsing the 2,000-point mark for his career. Merrill left school as Utah State's third-leading scorer.
Won't return Saturday
GCleveland Cavaliers
Quadriceps
December 21, 2024
Merrill won't return to Saturday's game against the 76ers due to a left quadriceps contusion, Evan Dammarell of DownEuclid.com reports.
ANALYSIS Merrill was a game-time decision for this contest due to a left bruised quadriceps, so it seems he aggravated the injury in this game. His absence shouldn't affect many fantasy outcomes, though, as he's not a player who logs heavy minutes off the bench. His next chance to play will come against the Jazz on Monday.
2024 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Starting/Off Bench
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2024 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Days Rest
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2024 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Vs Opp
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2024 NBA Per Game Split Stats - By Result
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Advanced Stats
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2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
Stat Review
How does Sam Merrill compare to other players?
This section compares his stats with all players from the previous three seasons (minimum 200 minutes played)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.
True Shooting %
An advanced statistic that measures a player's efficiency at shooting the ball that takes field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and three point percentage into account.
Effective Field Goal %
A statistic that adjusts field goal percentage to account for the fact that three-point field goals count for three points while field goals only count for two points.
3-Point Attempt Rate
Percentage of field goal attempts from three point range.
Free Throw Rate
Number of free throw attempts per field goal attempt.
Offensive Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available offensive rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Defensive Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available defensive rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Total Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Assist %
An estimate of the percentage of teammate field goals a player assisted while they were on the floor.
Steal %
An estimate of the percentage of opponent possessions that end with a steal by the player while they were on the floor.
Block %
An estimate of the percentage of opponent two-point field goal attempts blocked by the player while they were on the floor.
Turnover %
An estimate of turnovers committed per 100 plays.
Usage %
An estimate of the percentage of team plays used by a player while they were on the floor.
Fantasy Points Per Game
NBA Fantasy Points Per Game.
Fantasy Points Per Minute
NBA Fantasy Points Per Minute.
True Shooting %
54.1%
Effective Field Goal %
51.7%
3-Point Attempt Rate
87.3%
Free Throw Rate
10.7%
Offensive Rebound %
1.9%
Defensive Rebound %
8.4%
Total Rebound %
5.3%
Assist %
10.7%
Steal %
1.2%
Block %
1.0%
Turnover %
5.7%
Usage %
15.1%
Fantasy Points Per Game
13.9
Fantasy Points Per Minute
0.7
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Total
Per Game
Per 36
NBA Historical Fantasy Stats
How are these ratings calculated?
Our historical fantasy ratings are standard scores calculated using 8-Category settings with 12 teams and 13 players per team.
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NBA Per Game Historical Fantasy Stats
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NBA Per 36 Historical Fantasy Stats
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Historical ADP
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Cavaliers Depth Chart
Our full team depth charts are reserved for RotoWire subscribers.
Average Fantasy Points are determined when Sam Merrill was active vs. non-active during the season. Click here to view average fantasy points for a different time period.
Minutes
FanDuel
DraftKings
Yahoo
FantasyDraft
Head2Head
Sorare
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More Fantasy News
Available, will suit up
GCleveland Cavaliers
December 21, 2024
Merrill (quadriceps) is available for Saturday's game against the 76ers.
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Added to injury report
GCleveland Cavaliers
Quadriceps
December 21, 2024
Merrill is probable for Saturday's game against the 76ers due to a bruised left quadriceps, Evan Dammarell of DownEuclid.com reports.
ANALYSIS Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Strong showing off bench
GCleveland Cavaliers
December 4, 2024
Merrill ended Tuesday's 118-87 victory over the Wizards with 14 points (5-10 FG, 4-9 3Pt), three rebounds, six assists, one block and two steals across 23 minutes off the bench.
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Will be active Sunday
GCleveland Cavaliers
November 23, 2024
Merrill (ankle) isn't listed on the Cavaliers injury report for Sunday's game against the Raptors.
ANALYSIS Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Expected to be part of Cavs roster
GCleveland Cavaliers
August 10, 2024
The Cavaliers expect Merrill to be part of the roster for the opening game of the 2024-25 season in late October, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.
ANALYSIS The Cavaliers are still carrying just 10 players on standard guaranteed contracts for the 2024-25 season, but Merrill is expected to be part of the roster for Opening Night despite playing on a non-guaranteed deal. Merrill played a career-high 61 games for the Cavaliers in the 2023-24 regular season and averaged 8.0 points per game while shooting 40.4 percent from three-point range. That efficiency from beyond the arc should be enough to warrant him a bench spot in the NBA, either with the Cavaliers or elsewhere.