Watching Merrill shoot going frame-by-frame is ridiculous.
-He has a dip in his shot (brings the ball down to his hips after a catch) but it's so fast and consistent it doesn't even register as an extra step to the motion.
-When the ball is in the air going towards him, he's already starting his motion. He will do side step hops, left foot plant, right foot forward, knees bent, feet angled to the left and pretty much get into that stance as he's catching the ball. If the ball is a little off target, he'll adjust but quickly get into position.
-As he jumps (heel off the ground) and becomes airborne, his body contorts into near perfect vertical posture, his arms bend in sync (natural angles), guide hand releases (wrist pivots a bit to the left) a frame before his shooting hand releases (index and middle fingers visible, ring finger and pinky bent closer to the palm). He releases the ball near the apex of the jump. Follow through includes his guide hand moving towards his shooting hand and they almost puzzle piece together. He lands. He moves his arms down to his sides. Swish. Buckets.
All this happens in less than a second. The ball is in its target seeking arc longer than it takes Merrill to catch the ball and release.
If a defender is sunk all the way to the paint and ball watching, it's already too late as soon as the ball handler STARTS the pass to Merrill. Utah defenders were routinely doing that and it was really funny to see.
Also: Whenever Donovan is on the bench, he starts standing up and celebrating as soon as Merrill catches the ball and is in motion. Never get sick of that