I had some time to kill so I dug a little deeper into the game. It's not much, just 4 minutes of game action.
2nd Q - 10:19
Merrill checks in for Levert
On the floor:
Garland
Merrill
Okoro
Niang
Mobley
Certainly not the lineup you're looking for
@Adam. This is not an ideal lineup for Merrill, he's the only "real" shooting threat out there.
Possessions, looking only at Merrill involvement:
Magic 1
No action
Cavs 1
Merrill on-ball screen for Niang. Mobley posts up. No further Merrill involvement.
Magic 2
No action
Cavs 2
No action. Merrill sits in corner, Garland mid-range jumper.
Magic 3
Screen set for Fultz, Cavs switch Merrill onto Fultz.
Fultz overpowers and gets to the rim easily, draws 3 defenders, kicks for a wide open Ingles 3.
Cavs 3
No action. Merrill sits in corner, Garland mid-ranger jumper, fouled before the shot.
Cavs 4
Merrill is used as a sort of decoy. Mobley-Garland P/R, Mobley draws switch, easy 2.
Magic 4
Fultz goes at Merrill twice. Solid defense. Possession results in a turnover.
Cavs 5
Cavs push in transition, Niang draws foul.
Cavs 6
Merrill decoy. Again, Mobley-Garland P/R, Mobley draws switch, easy 2.
Magic 5
No Merrill action. Cavs in a 2-3 zone.
Cavs 7
Okoro pushes in transition. Find Merrill as trailer. Franz Wagner recognizes, closes hard, tips it.
Magic 6
Magic in transition. Anthony takes Merrill 1-on-1, draws foul.
Cavs 8
No Merrill action. Mobley-Garland P/R. Merrill gets offensive board.
Cavs 9
Merrill gets an
open corner 3 on a broken play. Miss.
Magic 7
Merrill attacked on ball with 2 screens. Nice help D by teammates.
Cavs 10
No Merrill action. Standing around. Garland 3, miss.
Magic 8
No Merill action. Good hustle rebound by him.
Timeout Cavs and that’s it for Merrill in Game 1.
My takeaways:
1. Not a single play drawn up for Merrill.
2. Orlando attacked Merrill on 3 of 8 possessions. He held his own on 1, helped twice.
3. This is not a good use of this player.
Hope to see something a little more interesting in Game 2, or like i said, just take him out entirely.