Here's how the Boston Celtics have fooled everyone this year. Jalen Brown's averaging 29.5.6 rebounds reassists on 70% true shooting over his past 8 games. Al Horthard was a team high plus 34 in Bean Town Sunday afternoon W over the team from the nation's capital, while the C's bench broke a team record with 15-3s made. Fueled by the MVP caliber Jason Tatum, the 17-time world champions didn't seem anything close to contenders early on, so let's look at the factors leading the C's to when a standing turnaround and whether or not the storied organization can add another ring and surpass the LA Lakers for the most titles among any franchise in 2022. Right before that, 89.8% of you watching right now aren't subscribed, so if you haven't already, please subscribe and turn on notifications. Also leave a thumbs up, it takes a few seconds or makes a massive difference, you can follow me on Instagram and Twitter at D-flow Hoops, and I'll follow you back. Link is down below in the description for those two platforms. We'll get to how Boston's own the number one defense in the NBA this year, and what email your docus team showed off in their beatdown against Washington, where their team put up an insane 144 points, taking down the Wizards by 42. First, let's enter the film room with Jalen Brown. Isolated against O.K.C.'s rookie Aaron Wiggins, J.B. crosses over to his left, uses a fake smitty dribble, fully spinning instead of fake spinning, and despite Wiggins staying with him, here's where Jalen gets creative. Pivoting wants to his right, then he sweeps through with the ball, jab stepping over to his left, which finally gets Aaron out of position, so Jalen pivots for a third time back over to his right, staying on balance to knock down a beautiful and won in traffic. Brown's creative ability to catch his match-up off balance in one-on-ones and make difficult shots may only rank him as the 36th highest isolation scoring player in the NBA, but he is making 47% of his shots with a hefty 132 points in such scenarios. Considering Brown's running made on the Wayne Jason Tatum, ranks just behind Shy Towns to Marger Rosen as the number 5 ranked player in total isolation points, Brown's extra bit of shock creation gives Eme Udoka's Flowing Offensive System everything it requires. According to NBA.com's shooting dashboard, after taking both 3-6 dribbles and 7-plus dribbles, Brown's made a ridiculous 40% of his 3-point shots this season. While you need intricate Golden State Warrior-esque offensive play sets to thrive in the playoffs, when defenses ramp up the pressure and get underneath attackers in the postseason, NBA teams need their star players to step up to the moment and create opportunities from nothing. In this screen in roll, watch the silky smooth way in which Brown reads the switch from the wizards, whipping out a simple quick signature combo and a step back to get enough room for a deep-range bomb. This time, after receiving the screen from Tyson, just watch the fluid speedy 1-2 step into another seamless triple off the bounce, even with KCP right on his back. We've always been aware that Brown's mix of athleticism, ball handling and shooting chops have been dangerous, but the 2021-22 season has seen Brown's shock fans with his much more confident looking shot off the dribble, whether it's his bounce transitioning from the dribble to his jumpers from the mid-range or from 3-point range. When you factor in Jalen's defense in terms of his elusive anticipation in the passing lanes, fundamentally sound lateral quickness, plus strength guarding attacking players straight up with his strong base. And that's what makes Boston's 25-year-old starting shooting guard one of the better two-way players in the association. Listed as a small forward, Jalen currently ranks second behind his teammate Jason Tatum in defensive writing at his position. Personally, as a Raptor's fan, I'll always have nightmares of Jalen locking up Pascal Siacum, back during the second round of 2020's bubble playoffs. But that hard-fought seven-game series against Toronto was just one of many instances in recent history, where Brown's displayed that he's got elite defensive chops. Now for the main factors which have given Boston the number one ranked defense in the NBA this season. When Robert Williams was healthy, Udoca using him as an off-ball helper who'd been shut down drives and cuts in the blink of an eye, played a part in that. Marcus Smart has been known for his great defense throughout the entirety of his career. This year, those defensive efforts are being put on display even more, his constant hustle communication and general leadership. That's what makes the C's tick on that end of the floor. Anyone who watches Boston as seen Smart make the iconic plays that everyone talks about, they're the plays that don't show up on a stat sheet and lead to his value being constantly underplayed. He does the dirty work so no one else has to and the man deserves respect for that. Then there's Big Al Horthford, whose second tenure in a Celtics uniform has exceeded everyone's wildest expectations. To be fair, Horthford always played well in the postseason for Boston, so GM Brad Stevens bringing the C's legend home seemed like a solid move right off the bat. While Robert was guarding the perimeter, the Celtics relied on Horthford to guard opposing Big men. Al ruffed it up with giants down low, while when he was healthy, Williams got to come in and reap the reward with rotations from out of nowhere. But whenever anyone makes a mistake, Al Horthford's been stellar at cleaning things up, almost acting as a safety blanket. Without RW-3 until the second round, having the 35-year-old Al is a massive luxury. Overall, it's getting very difficult to find new ways of praising this current Celtics team from their exceptional defense to their vastly improved decision making throughout the season. We've really seen it all. But on Sunday afternoon, the Celts served us all a reminder that they're capable of taking their offense to new heights. To be fair, they were facing off against the league's 25th ranked defense, but they did finish the contest with the season high 39 Dimes on 56 made baskets as they tore apart Washington's defense. For reference, the Celtics are 14th in assist per game, and 11th in assist to turnover ratio according to Boston's SB Nation. Whenever discussing a bump in production, our initial reaction is to hone in on the players with the largest assist numbers. Jason Tatum's court vision and processing speed have both evolved into new monsters as this season's worn on, and Marcus Smart's ability to control the tempo of games has reached new levels. Those developments were undoubtedly a catalyst for the team's passing display against Washington, praising the growth of individual players as fair and makes sense to a certain degree. But against the whiz, it was the team's execution that really stood out. Take this early assist from Jason. Sure, the pass and vision were both exceptional, but without Daniel Tice cutting hard to the basket, Contabius called Well Pope would have been able to slide over to Al and remove the passing leg. Plus, without the veteran big man timing his cut as the trail man, Tatum wouldn't have had an easy outlet of the trap. It's all about the moving parts. When E-Mayu Doka came in as the team's head coach, he often spoke of playing selfless basketball, and it's those secondary cuts that prove why his point was so valid. Moving without the ball and manipulating the defense is rarely going to get the recognition of regional or national media, simply because that type of ball doesn't sell. But it does contribute to winning in big time fashion. Why or why not will Boston win at all in 2022? Best answer down below in the comments gets next video shout out. Top 5 commenters by June 21st. Receive free NBA merchandise this summer. So leave your take on today's question to compete in community speaks. Today's speaker is Mr. Higgins, who says Taylor Jenkins is coach of the year. Monty Williams is great, but nobody expected the grids to be this formidable. They all know their roles. It's a well-oiled machine. Thanks for every answer. I hope you have a great one. Deflow signing off.