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CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cavs extended their winning streak to three games with a 116-95 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Monday at Little Caesars Arena, but they added to their injury report in the process. Sam Merrill suffered a right hip contusion and went to the locker room during the third quarter, after knocking into teammate Evan Mobley earlier in the contest. Merrill was ruled out for the remainder of the contest. “He’s hurting,” Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson said postgame. “When Sam can’t come back in the game, it’s [hurting]. I think Evan actually hit him like in the hip. Looks like a hip pointer. Those are painful. We’ll see.” More Cavs coverage Cavs tap into defensive identity during win in Detroit, 116-95 ‘Hellacious schedule’: Cavs head coach calls out NBA’s 82-game grind Cavs will be without backup point guard Monday as they manage early-season workload How to watch the Cavs: See how to watch the Cavs games with this handy game-by-game TV schedule. Merrill walked around the locker room postgame with a noticeable limp. The sharpshooter has made 18 triples through the Cavs’ first four games. “[He] has probably been our best player over the first three games‚" Atkinson said after Cleveland’s win over Milwaukee on Sunday. Merrill dealt with soreness in his abductor during the preseason that held him out for three of their four contests before the 2025-26 campaign got underway. The Cavs are already shorthanded with their backcourt depth missing Darius Garland (toe), Max Strus (foot) and Lonzo Ball for injury management during back-to-backs. Cleveland has taken an extremely cautious approach with player health to start the season and will likely continue that trend as they prioritize staying fresh for the playoffs. But losing Merrill would be another blow as the team works to iron out the kinks in their tweaks and identity early in the year. The Cavs travel to Boston to face the Celtics on Wednesday.
