CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cavs are finally starting to look like themselves again — not because everything is fixed, but because the toolbox is slowly being restocked.

After operating with just 10 available players days ago — to the point of flying Luke Travers in from the G League Showcase in Orlando just to have another body — Cleveland is slowly inching toward full strength.

Entering Monday night against Charlotte, the Cavs get back Donovan Mitchell (illness), Craig Porter Jr. (illness) and Sam Merrill (hand).

That leaves only three names on the injury report. Evan Mobley (calf), Larry Nance Jr. (calf) and Max Strus (foot). That’s a meaningful shift for a team that has spent the better part of a month trying to survive lineups held together by necessity rather than design.

The most impactful return isn’t the biggest name. It’s Merrill.

The 29-year-old hasn’t played since Nov. 17 against Milwaukee, when he injured his right hand. In the weeks since, the Cavs have felt his absence significantly. Spacing has shrunk. Off-ball movement has stagnated. Defensive urgency has come and gone. Merrill’s value lives in those margins — and Cleveland has been losing too many of those possessions lately.

“It’s the shooting, but it’s the gravity that goes with it,” Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson said what they’ve missed most from Merrill. “More room to drive, more room to get to the rim, more room for our better players. So it’s a huge, huge thing. … He’s coming back from a tough [injury]. Still sore, but he’s a trooper, man. He wants to go, wants to try to help us. And we need him.”

When Merrill is on the floor, defenses have to stay honest. His shooting gravity bends coverage, pulls help a step wider and opens driving lanes that simply haven’t existed consistently without him.

Maybe most importantly, Merrill doesn’t need the ball to impact the possession. His cutting, relocation and constant movement force defenses to communicate and react. Too often during his absence, Cleveland’s offense has stood still, waiting for something to happen rather than creating it.

There’s also the defensive side, which tends to get overlooked with shooters. Merrill competes. He talks. He anticipates. He’s rarely in the wrong place.

For a Cavs team that has spent recent games stressing film, accountability and cleaning up breakdowns, his return adds a connective piece to the back end of lineups that have lacked cohesion.

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Then there’s Mitchell and Porter, both back after missing one game due to illness. Their return restores ball-handling depth and creation diversity.

Mitchell’s presence changes the geometry of the floor immediately, but his return comes with an interesting wrinkle.

Darius Garland just dropped 35 points in Friday’s loss to Chicago while carrying the offense without Mitchell. Garland was aggressive, decisive and fully in rhythm — the version of himself Cleveland needs consistently. How Atkinson balances that momentum with Mitchell back in the fold will be worth watching.

Porter’s return might be quieter, but it’s just as important structurally.

He brings downhill pressure, paint touches and the kind of creation that forces defenses to collapse. Too many Cavs possessions have died on the perimeter, ending in contested jumpers after minimal advantage was created. Porter’s ability to get two feet in the paint creates kickout opportunities and scrambling defenses — exactly what Cleveland needs to get back to a free-flowing offense where every weapon is engaged.

This is what health restores: optionality.

Instead of survival lineups, Atkinson can experiment again. Instead of overextended roles, players can settle back into lanes that make sense. Instead of forcing offense, the Cavs can start bending defenses with movement, spacing and pressure — the foundational pieces of what this group is supposed to be.

“The healthier we get, the better we’re going to be,” Atkinson admitted. “We’ve gone from pretty much the healthiest team in the league to pretty much not the healthiest team in the league. Facts. Sixteen different starting lineups. … Point guard came off a tough surgery, no training camp, no offseason. And then I looked at our two bigs have played less than half of the games together, JA and Evan.

“I’m buying this dip because I know what we got coming, and I love our leadership.”

Mobley, Nance and Strus are still out, and each absence still matters. Their returns will come in time. But for now, the Cavs are trending toward something they haven’t had in weeks. Stability.

It’s not a cure-all. It’s a starting point. And for a team that’s spent December patching holes, just getting healthy feels like progress.



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