Sam Merrill's Elbow Injury Hands the Keys to Rookie Meleek Thomas

Sam Merrill's body is currently staging a full-scale rebellion against the 2026 NBA season.

The Cleveland Cavaliers guard was officially ruled out for the rest of Friday's game with an elbow injury, according to Underdog NBA. That forced rookie Meleek Thomas to take over the starting shooting guard spot for the entire second half.

"Underdog NBA reported that Sam Merrill won't return Friday due to an elbow injury, with Meleek Thomas starting the second half."

Merrill has already dealt with a hand issue and a hamstring problem this year. Adding an elbow injury to the mix means he is just a shoulder tweak away from completing the upper-body injury bingo card before Thanksgiving.

The immediate pivot to Thomas is actually the silver lining for a Cleveland team that has been decimated by injuries. The second-round pick out of Arkansas has been one of the few bright spots for the roster, averaging 13 points a game and recently dropping a career-high 17 in his first career start.

If you were holding a Merrill three-pointer prop for the second half, you are officially out of luck. But live bettors and fantasy managers should probably be looking at Thomas's usage rate anyway, considering he is suddenly getting starter minutes by default.

The Cavaliers have a brutal Western Conference road trip looming. If Merrill's elbow keeps him sidelined, Thomas is going to get a crash course in NBA rotation life, and Cleveland is going to have to figure out how to survive with a backcourt held together by athletic tape and second-round rookies.