Vincent Goodwill, senior NBA reporter for Yahoo Sports, discusses Monty Williams’ suitability as the Pistons’ head coach and how the current Celtics squad stacks up against the greatest in NBA history.

A team scout was phoning even though it was late on the East Coast.

On January 16, after witnessing Phoenix overcome a 22-point deficit in the fourth quarter against Sacramento, this personnel man was raving about one of the best scorers in the history of the game because of Kevin Durant’s domineering defense.

After Suns head coach Frank Vogel took Jusuf Nurkic, his center, off the court, Durant identified the only player in Phoenix’s starting lineup who was taller than six feet six. The Kings’ standout big man, Domantas Sabonis, who is battering his way to a career-high and league-leading 13.2 rebounds per game, was someone he had to guard. Durant was hauled back out to the perimeter to cover a screen for the bobbing and weaving Malik Monk, also known as the downhill demon De’Aaron Fox, as part of his guarding duties for Sabonis. The Kings believed, play after play, that they were leaving Durant alone on an island and that he would eventually perish from an approaching crossover. Play after play, though, Durant fought Sabonis so fiercely in the paint that he caused a turnover, he blocked Fox’s step-back, and Durant drew

Thus, on February 2, two weeks later, Durant returned as the five-man in Vogel’s more flexible lineup during crucial moments in Atlanta. He alternated between facing forward Jalen Johnson and Hawks center Onyeka Okongwu before Durant finally asked to be assigned the challenging position of combo guard Dejounte Murray. Johnson was stripped by Durant on a transition, stifling a potential easy runaway bucket. Murray’s driving layup was thwarted by his assist defense behind the back line, and Durant would eventually shadow Murray at the most crucial parts of the game.

“Coach has to trust me to be put in those positions if I’m going to be able to achieve my goal of being an all-around great player,” Durant said to Yahoo Sports. If I’m not in such positions, I can’t practice it. I want such matchups and for him to play creative defense with me so that I can improve and gain more knowledge and understanding of what it takes to be a good all-around defender.

Statistics imply that he has already arrived. The advanced figures are blatantly daring. According to Basketball Index, the 14-time All-Star has blocked 43.3% of all shots he has contested, which is tops among players who have played at least 1,501 minutes. This season, he has ascended to eighth place on the NBA’s all-time scoring record. In the process, he is setting a career high 22.93% of the time by guarding Usage Tier 1 players, who are the most ball dominant in the league.