Milwaukee Bucks: 3 ways Sam Merrill can crack rotation in 2020-21 season

Goal no. 3 – Holding his own defensively

As much as an offensive spark Merrill projects to be in the NBA and now in Milwaukee, there are more than enough questions about how he’ll be able to play on the defensive end.

While he does have solid positional size and decent physical tools, Merrill is far from the fleetest of foot and the same applies to his lack of explosiveness. As those were limitations that showed up during Merrill’s time playing in the Mountain West Conference, one can only wonder how they would be tested in the NBA.

Despite all that, Merrill has been steadfast in his abilities to compete defensively at the NBA level as he discussed his perceived limitations to Mike Decourcy of the Sporting News on the eve of last month’s draft:

"“There’s certainly some truth to it, in the aspect that I don’t run super fast and I don’t jump super high. But I do think that … I’m a lot quicker than people think, both laterally and with the ball in my hands,” Merrill said. “I feel like I have the ability to go by guys, and I can stay in front of guys. “I feel like athleticism isn’t simply running and jumping. I think there’s more to it. I think it’s movement. There’s fluidness as a mover, and as a finisher around the rim, and as a rebounder there’s toughness. I do think I have the ability to compete with the best athletes.”"

Certainly Merrill’s sound positioning and high IQ does have the potential to mitigate some of his physical and athletic attributes on that side of the ball. But until Merrill is able to show that his deficiencies aren’t as drastic as they have been made out to be in projecting his fit at the next level, he’ll have to earn the benefit of the doubt with his play.

That requires being able to see the floor and given how Budenholzer has prized the defensive end during his time in Milwaukee, being a capable defender is the bar for entry into Milwaukee’s rotation for Merrill.