Donovan Mitchell, Lauri Markkanen, Collin Sexton and everybody else involved in the 2022 Cleveland Cavaliers-Utah Jazz trade won’t be the only ones with a Beehive State connection in the teams’ upcoming game.
Sharpshooter Sam Merrill, who’s coming off his best NBA game, wasn’t part of that trade, but his ties to Utah are as strong as they get. The Cavaliers’ backup guard grew up in Bountiful, Utah, and played collegiately at Utah State.
Considering his Utah background his career-high scoring effort in Monday’s overtime win against the Houston Rockets, Merrill will be among those under the spotlight in Wednesday’s game against the Jazz in Cleveland.
Merrill scored 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting with five 3-pointers in the 135-130 victory vs. Houston. That included five points in the overtime session.
Cleveland coach J.B. Bickerstaff said Merrill has “guts, grits, professionalism.”
“Just a guy who always puts himself in position and if his number’s called, he’s going to be ready to go,” Bickerstaff said. “I think he showed that tonight. You just never know. For him to be ready and stay ready, just speaks a lot for his character.”
After his all-state high school career at Bountiful High — a suburb 10 miles north of Salt Lake City — Merrill earned numerous All-Mountain West Conference honors and was named an honorable mention All-American after leading the Aggies to two MWC championships.
Mitchell, who spent the first five NBA seasons in Utah from 2017-22, has been impressed with Merrill since then.
“At practice, sometimes it’s hard for the red team to get a stop because he’s on the floor. This is what he does. This is who he is,” said Mitchell, who scored 37 in Monday’s win. “I’ve known Sam since he was at Utah State. I was in Utah. We would play pick-up against him. He puts in a tremendous amount of work. … To see him have a night like this especially when we need it, too, it’s great. When hard work meets opportunity, it’s a beautiful thing to see.”
The Jazz have been lifted recently by Sexton, a key piece in that 2022 blockbuster deal. He has averaged 25.6 points and 4.0 assists in the past five games.
Sexton and Talen Horton-Tucker each scored 27 points with six assists and three rebounds in Utah’s 125-108 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Monday.
“Talen and Collin were both phenomenal tonight,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said. “I’m proud of the work that those two have done. … I’m very hard on both of them. I expect a lot from the both of them. They’ve both dug in and continued to learn how they fit with our group.”
Sexton didn’t have the greatest shooting night, going 6-for-17, but he hit 12 of 13 free throws and was instrumental in the victory. The Jazz are playing without starting guards Jordan Clarkson and Keyonte George but have won three of four in part thanks to Sexton’s play.
“I just feel like I’m just in a flow right now, and I just felt like we changed a few things in the offensive scheme,” Sexton said. “So it feels good. It feels like the ball is popping. It feels like everybody’s involved and when we’re all involved, it’s fun. It’s fun to play. You can tell that we’re all out there enjoying it — even the bench is into it. As a whole, I feel like we’re starting to come together.”
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