Sam Merrill missed the Cleveland Cavaliers’ preseason finale against the Orlando Magic on Tuesday because of right elbow soreness, leaving Cleveland without a perimeter scoring option as it finished its exhibition schedule.
Merrill was listed as as out before the game. There was no return timetable or an update on his availability for the regular-season opener.
The absence also provided context for Cleveland’s reserve guard rotation. Craig Porter Jr. entered before the other backup guard options, while Tyrese Proctor received first-half minutes after not playing in the first half Sunday.
Those developments give the Cavs another look at their backcourt combinations, though they do not establish how coach Kenny Atkinson will distribute minutes when Merrill is available.
What the Cavs have reported about Sam Merrill
Merrill issue is right elbow soreness, and the pregame update listed James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Peyton Watson, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen as Cleveland’s starters.
The report establishes why Merrill did not play Tuesday. It does not identify when the soreness began, describe a specific incident that caused it or say whether he will miss additional games.
Cleveland opens the regular season at Philadelphia on Oct. 22. That leaves nine days between the preseason finale and the opener, but the schedule alone cannot establish whether Merrill will be ready.
For now, his absence removes a chance to work through game situations with the combinations Atkinson is evaluating. Any assessment of a longer-term rotation adjustment will depend on further information about his elbow.
Porter and Proctor get early opportunities
Porter was the eighth Cavalier to enter Tuesday’s game and the first of Cleveland’s backup guard options to check in.
Craig Porter Jr. is the eighth guy to check in tonight (Sam Merrill is out) and the first of the backup guard options. Interesting!
— Danny Cunningham (@RealDCunningham) October 13, 2026
That is a useful development in the backup competition Porter has been pursuing. It is also a substitution decision made with Merrill unavailable, which limits how much it says about the eventual order.
Later in the first half, Proctor received minutes, a change from Sunday’s first half. Danny Cunningham questioned whether that opportunity would have come with Merrill playing; he did not report that the coaching staff had confirmed a direct connection.
For the guards involved, the opportunity is to demonstrate how they function within a particular lineup. Bringing the ball up, defending another guard and creating a shot for a teammate are different responsibilities from supplying shooting away from the ball.
That distinction matters when assessing Merrill’s absence. A guard receiving additional playing time does not necessarily mean Cleveland is asking him to reproduce Merrill’s role.
Merrill’s shooting matters to the lineup choices
Merrill scored 23 points and shot 5-of-8 from 3-point range against Detroit in Game 7 of the 2026 Eastern Conference semifinals.
That performance offers a concrete example of the scoring he can supply. It is not a prediction of what he would have produced Tuesday, but it helps explain why his availability matters beyond filling a place in the substitution order.
A perimeter shooting threat can make a defender choose between staying close to his assignment and helping against a drive.
If Cleveland instead uses that spot for another ballhandler, the potential benefit shifts toward having an additional player who can initiate or continue a possession.
Neither approach is automatically better in every lineup. The combination of players around that guard determines which skill is most useful.
Atkinson has outlined his rotation goal
The broader backdrop is Atkinson’s stated preference for a manageable rotation. In an Oct. 8 report from Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, the coach described his target:
“I’ve done 11, but 10 is most manageable. That’s the goal,” Atkinson said.
That earlier comment describes the number of players Atkinson hopes to use consistently; it does not settle the remaining places or promise a fixed workload for any reserve.
Tuesday’s guard minutes add evidence to that evaluation. Merrill’s health remains a separate question, with his return timetable still absent from the verified pregame report.