{"id":75842,"date":"2025-12-25T14:26:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-25T17:26:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/necessity-lineups-are-fading-how-3-returns-let-the-cavs-play-by-design-again\/"},"modified":"2025-12-25T14:26:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-25T17:26:13","slug":"necessity-lineups-are-fading-how-3-returns-let-the-cavs-play-by-design-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/en\/necessity-lineups-are-fading-how-3-returns-let-the-cavs-play-by-design-again\/","title":{"rendered":"Necessity lineups are fading: How 3 returns let the Cavs play by design again"},"content":{"rendered":"


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CLEVELAND, Ohio \u2014 The Cavs are finally starting to look like themselves again \u2014 not because everything is fixed, but because the toolbox is slowly being restocked.<\/p>\n

After operating with just 10 available players days ago \u2014 to the point of flying Luke Travers in from the G League Showcase in Orlando just to have another body \u2014 Cleveland is slowly inching toward full strength. <\/p>\n

Entering Monday night against Charlotte, the Cavs get back Donovan Mitchell (illness), Craig Porter Jr. (illness) and Sam Merrill (hand). <\/p>\n

That leaves only three names on the injury report. Evan Mobley (calf), Larry Nance Jr. (calf) and Max Strus (foot). That\u2019s a meaningful shift for a team that has spent the better part of a month trying to survive lineups held together by necessity rather than design.<\/p>\n

The most impactful return isn\u2019t the biggest name. It\u2019s Merrill.<\/p>\n

The 29-year-old hasn\u2019t played since Nov. 17 against Milwaukee, when he injured his right hand. In the weeks since, the Cavs have felt his absence significantly. Spacing has shrunk. Off-ball movement has stagnated. Defensive urgency has come and gone. Merrill\u2019s value lives in those margins \u2014 and Cleveland has been losing too many of those possessions lately.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the shooting, but it\u2019s the gravity that goes with it,\u201d Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson said what they\u2019ve missed most from Merrill. \u201cMore room to drive, more room to get to the rim, more room for our better players. So it\u2019s a huge, huge thing. … He\u2019s coming back from a tough [injury]. Still sore, but he\u2019s a trooper, man. He wants to go, wants to try to help us. And we need him.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Merrill is on the floor, defenses have to stay honest. His shooting gravity bends coverage, pulls help a step wider and opens driving lanes that simply haven\u2019t existed consistently without him. <\/p>\n

Maybe most importantly, Merrill doesn\u2019t need the ball to impact the possession. His cutting, relocation and constant movement force defenses to communicate and react. Too often during his absence, Cleveland\u2019s offense has stood still, waiting for something to happen rather than creating it.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also the defensive side, which tends to get overlooked with shooters. Merrill competes. He talks. He anticipates. He\u2019s rarely in the wrong place. <\/p>\n

For a Cavs team that has spent recent games stressing film, accountability and cleaning up breakdowns, his return adds a connective piece to the back end of lineups that have lacked cohesion.<\/p>\n