How Sam Merrill became essential to the Cavs — and why it started 35,000 feet in the air

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Somewhere over middle America, long after the cameras shut off and the box scores froze, Donovan Mitchell and Sam Merrill started to build something the Cavs are now benefiting from.

On nearly every road trip since they became teammates in 2023, the two sit side-by-side. Two screens glow. On Mitchell’s, the game from a few hours earlier plays in full, rewound and replayed like a scene study. On Merrill’s, a TV show flickers, but he’s actually watching Mitchell’s screen instead. Leaning closer, pausing possessions, pointing out the subtleties.

Mitchell is a film junkie. And from their very first flight, Merrill was one of the rare people he trusted to give unvarnished truth.

You should’ve passed that. That wasn’t the right read. That was a bad shot.

“When Sam first