Cleveland Cavaliers fans know just how good of a defender Sam Merrill is. The general NBA fan, though, would certainly need more convincing of that fact.
Selling someone on the idea of a 6-foot-4-inch guard, who is a touch over 200 pounds, being a strong defender may be difficult for some basketball fans to get behind immediately. However, Sam Vecenie of the Game Theory Podcast had no issues being a believer.
The NBA Draft guru was more than willing to share his admiration for the Cavaliers guard during a 2020 NBA Re-Draft episode of their show. Vecenie sang the praises of Merrill's defense loudly enough for everyone to hear.
Vecenie said, "Sam Merrill is a borderline starter in the NBA right now. ... The reason I like him is because of the defense. He is a way underrated defender. I'm not sitting here saying he's a stopper, ... but he's pretty good on the ball. He can deal with matchups he has to play on that end of the court."
Sam Merrill's defense puts him into one of NBA's most valuable archetypes
Since arriving in Cleveland, Merrill has worked towards establishing himself as not only a dependable role player, but one of the biggest steals of the 2020 NBA Draft. That helped get the Cavaliers guard paid in 2025.
It should be unsurprising that Cleveland was willing to make that commitment to Merrill. The two-way guard falls into one of the most valuable archetypes that a role player can be in the NBA. Merrill perfectly qualifies as the quintessential 3-and-D player.
The former second-round pick has been lights out from beyond the arc over the last two season with the Cavaliers. In 2023-24, Merrill's first season averaging over 15 minutes per game in his career, the marksman knocked down 40.4 of his 5.8 3-point attempts per game. In 2024-25, that production remained steady, with 37.2 percent of his 5.2 shots from distance falling.
This was all while playing gritty and tenacious defense on the other end. Merrill has never been shy of challenging his matchup at the point of attack and making his opponents work for every bucket.
Merrill's proven success with the Cavaliers over the last two seasons should give him the inside track towards starting alongside Donovan Mitchell while Darius Garland is recovering from toe surgery. NBA fans will have the opportunity to see the Cavaliers guard's defense in a much large sample size then.