Sam Merrill projections
Sam Merrill's rating today, where players like him usually go from here, and the players from the past who looked the most like him.
Ratings as of 2026-11-08. The typical path for each age comes from every season since 2005-06.
Sam Merrill Cleveland · age 30
- Overall
- +2.5
- Offense
- +1.6
- Defense
- +0.9
Sam is out with arm/elbow management. We expect him back around Nov 9, going by how long that injury has kept players out since 2018. Move his return date on the team page
Past seasons, and the next five
Grey: his rating at the end of each past season. A hollow dot is a season under 500 minutes, so that rating rests on less.
Line: the typical path. Band: where 80% of players this age ended up. Rating is points per 100 possessions compared with an average player.
| age 3184% | age 3272% | age 3357% | age 3445% | age 3534% |
Share of players this age who were still playing 500+ minutes that season.
Why Sam Merrill is rated +2.8
- +2.8 means his teams score about 2.8 more points per 100 possessions with him than with an average player in his spot, after we account for who he plays with and against. That's the 29th best of the 337 players we rate.
- Most of it is offense: +1.8 there (31st of 337), +1.0 on defense (72nd of 337).
- It's built on 1,550 minutes from this season and last, and the recent games count more.
- He's up 0.6 since opening night, when he was at +2.2.
- He isn't in Cleveland's rotation right now, so the forecast gives him no minutes.
What if he plays better, or worse?
Slide his rating to where you think it should be. We replay Cleveland's season 2,000 times with him there and everyone else as they are.
Our rating: +2.8
Sam isn't playing right now, so the forecast gives him no minutes and his rating can't move Cleveland. Give him minutes on the team page to try it.
Players who looked like him at this age
Closest on offense, defense and playing style, within a year of his age. Their next five seasons:
- Kyle Korver 2011-12 · age 31Then+2.1+1+2.7+2+2.3+3+4.9+4+5.1+5−1.2
- Anthony Morrow 2014-15 · age 29Then+2.4+1+0.9+2−0.6+3out+4out+5out
- Davis Bertans 2021-22 · age 29Then+2.2+10.0+2−1.4+3out+4out+5out
- Wesley Matthews 2015-16 · age 29Then+2.7+1+0.5+2−2.3+3−0.4+4+1.3+5+1.5
- Matt Bonner 2009-10 · age 30Then+2.9+1+2.0+2+3.8+3+1.7+4+0.3+5−1.6
Playing like him today
The current players closest to him in how they play and how good they are.
- Duncan RobinsonDET · +2.6
- Devin VassellSAS · +2.2
- Miles McBrideNYK · +1.9
- AJ GreenMIL · +0.7
- Julian ChampagnieSAS · +2.1
See Cleveland's odds and the rest of the roster
How the forecast works, and how often it's right
How it works: every season-end rating since 2005-06, and what the same players did one to five seasons later. The typical change only counts players still in the league, so the line is a little rosier than reality for older players; the rotation-player row shows how many dropped out. Our ratings, built from play-by-play data. Not affiliated with the NBA.