Sam Merrill is playing the best ball of his career this season. He’s averaging 13.4 points and 2.2 assists while shooting an absurd 47.4% from three on 7.3 attempts per game. The former 60th overall pick has become indispensable for the Cavaliers, regularly appearing in the starting lineup. Cleveland is 7.2 points per 100 possessions better when he’s on the floor, according to Cleaning the Glass. His impact is off the charts. He’s one of the most underrated players in hoops.
On the surface, though, Merrill is just another three-point specialist, a trade that’s trending toward extinction in today’s NBA. Guys who can’t adapt to different situations and contribute in multiple ways aren’t valuable in high-leverage games. Joe Harris, Bryn Forbes, Evan Fournier and many more snipers have fizzled out of the league in recent years due to their one-dimensionalness. Why hasn’t Merrill met that same fate? He isn’t actually a specialist.
Bryn Forbes could outscore Jimmy Butler in a playoff series, but he couldn’t defend a parked car. Merrill, on the other hand, is an 81st percentile isolation defender and a 93rd percentile screen navigator according to BBall Index. He’s not the type of point-of-attack stalwart you’d stick on a star like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for a full game, but he guards his yard really well. Merrill stays disciplined, bumps guys off their spots with his thicker frame, contests shots and overall just doesn’t get picked on.
Merrill is also the definition of a low-mistake player. He commits just 1.2 turnovers per 75 possessions, an 80th percentile rate. He’s not a standout playmaker, but he keeps the ball moving.
Role players who can’t guard and cost their teams possessions are liabilities, and liabilities don’t see the floor in the playoffs. Merrill played 19.9 minutes a night for the Cavs in the 2025 postseason.
It’s true that most of Merrill’s value comes from his shooting. He is, after all, a top five shooter in the world. His medley of unbelievable efficiency and sky-high volume would be borderline unprecedented if Steph Curry didn’t exist. That said, though, he wouldn’t be able to put his three-point talents on full display if he couldn’t do the little things that help teams win.
Isaiah Joe is a very similar case. He’s lethal from beyond the arc, easily the best shooter on OKC’s roster and one of the better pure shooters in the league as a whole. And, just like Merrill, he doesn’t turn it over and he holds his own on D. Oklahoma City is 2.3 points per 100 possessions better offensively with Joe in the lineup, which is in large part because of his shooting (they need it), but again, he couldn’t make that big of a difference if he wasn’t well-rounded.
Sam Merrill and Isaiah Joe (two former Bench Mob Players of the Year, by the way) are redefining what it means to be three-point specialists, allowing them to make tangible impacts on contending teams. Moving forward, smart organizations should be prioritizing these modernized marksmen over the Luke Kennards and Buddy Hields of the world. They’ll be patting themselves on the back come playoff time.
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