Sam Merrill: Cavs need better habits, and better starts

Sam Merrill knows the Cavaliers will keep fighting when they’re down. The next step is giving themselves less to fight their way out of.

After Wednesday’s 124-116 road loss to the Thunder, Merrill pointed to the consistency the Cavs keep discussing and have yet to establish. They’re 4-4, with three losses in four games and plenty of stretches that explain both sides of that record.

“We’ve had some moments, but we’ve got to keep working on that,” Merrill told reporters.

Merrill said the goal is to “develop great, consistent habits of trying to play good basketball, trying to play the right way with a ton of energy, sustained for 48 minutes.”

That’s a reasonable goal. It’s also a familiar one. As covered in the latest Dribbles, the frustration stems from how much these Cavs resemble last season’s team. There’s enough talent to look very good. There are too many lapses to trust that they’ll stay there.

Wednesday offered another example. The Cavs trailed 37-20 after the first quarter and eventually fell behind by 25. They played better afterward, but never led.

“This group, we’re a group that battles, and when we get down, we don’t quit,” Merrill said. “I thought we did a good job of that. But in this league, you got to find a way to get off to a better start.”

Exactly. Continuing to compete matters. So does being ready before the opponent has built a comfortable lead.

Merrill contributed 10 points and seven rebounds off the bench. James Harden finished with 19 points, nine rebounds and six assists, then delivered a similar assessment.

“We’re eight games in and we have to start figuring it out soon,” Harden said, as detailed in our earlier follow-up. “We have shown steps of growth and flashes of being really really good. We’re just inconsistent.”

Nobody needs to declare a November emergency. The Cavs have 74 games to improve, and Merrill is right that building better habits should be the priority.

But those habits have to start showing up earlier in games. The Cavs have provided enough evidence that they can battle back. Now they need to give themselves a better chance to win.

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