3 times, the Celtics fought and fell wanting their first win of the 2025-26 season, with every loss outlined by the identical downside: an incapacity to rebound. On Monday night time towards the Pelicans, they turned to fourth-year ahead Josh Minott for his first profession NBA begin.
That call paid off tremendously.
Minott joined Neemias Queta in Joe Mazzulla’s double-big lineup, a transfer designed to counter a winless, Zion Williamson-less Pelicans squad. Boston entered the night time ranked twenty fifth within the league in rebounds per sport (39), and counting on Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and Payton Pritchard to masks that deficiency merely wasn’t sustainable. So it rapidly turned a time for creativity for Mazzulla, who had simply 24 hours earlier inserted rookie Hugo Gonzalez into the beginning lineup in Detroit.
This time, with Minott getting an opportunity to pinch-hit, the 22-year-old rewarded the Celtics with 15 factors, 9 rebounds, a steal, and a block throughout 28 minutes. He completed with a +42 plus-minus, tying for the Eighth-best mark recorded in workforce historical past (play-by-play period).
“I’m nonetheless sort of excessive on life from the sport proper now,” Minott mentioned after Boston’s 122-90 win over New Orleans. “I imply, simply the chance to be on the market, simply to contribute to profitable, contribute to workforce success. I can’t take that with no consideration. Joe’s given me that chance, and I simply don’t need to permit that to go in useless.”
Minott’s mission was achieved at Smoothie King Middle.
On the very first play of the sport, after White secured the jump-ball deflection for Boston, Minott soared to the rim and hammered house an alley-oop from White, giving the Celtics an instantaneous spark.
From there, Minott’s practically 7-foot wingspan helped the Celtics flip protection into offense all through the night time. Within the second quarter, he intercepted a hand-off go from Pelicans ahead Saddiq Bey and completed with a two-handed dunk on the opposite finish, profiting from a wide-open flooring. Minott crashed arduous after hanging on the rim a second too lengthy, however bounced again to his toes seconds later and instantly returned to disrupting New Orleans on the inbound.
“I cocked it again, and I used to be eager about simply flushing it — you recognize, just a bit clear flush,” Minott recalled. “However then I’m like, ‘A sport like this, it’s a must-win.’ So I’m like, I don’t wanna break the dunk, so I’m simply gonna be sure that the ball goes via the rim. So, like in life, I held on too lengthy — generally you simply gotta let go in life. Nevertheless it didn’t harm, although.”
To no shock, Minott’s “can’t-keep-me-down” demeanor lined up completely with what Mazzulla anticipated.
“He doesn’t have a selection,” Mazzulla mentioned of Minott’s second-quarter fall. “You get harm, you’re not enjoying ever once more. So he had the correct angle. He bought up, and he nearly bought the deflection, I feel. Once more, it hasn’t gone the best way we anticipated, however I feel we’ve gotten higher bodily and mentally, and people performs present that. You must keep hungry. You must preserve enjoying. You’ve bought to maintain chipping away on the id that we have to create. I feel Josh has purchased into that.”
Mazzulla’s choice to present Minott significant minutes confirmed that, whereas the Celtics won’t be capable of depend on outmatching opponents in expertise like they’ve in previous seasons, they will outwork them. Sending that message is just one facet of the coin — the opposite is placing that philosophy into motion, which the Celtics are striving to do with a forged of unproven function gamers. Minott spent three seasons with the Timberwolves with out logging a single profession begin earlier than making his Boston debut within the workforce’s fourth sport of the season. Mazzulla’s belief in him paid off this time, however the Celtics nonetheless want to search out consistency for the components to work over the lengthy haul.
Between Minott, Queta, Chris Boucher, Luka Garza, and Xavier Tillman Sr., the Celtics can flip any course at any given time. Mazzulla isn’t ready round. If the second calls for a substitution, Mazzulla is pulling that set off with out hesitation. And this isn’t some scheme designed to pile stress on the frontcourt, both. Boston is basically internet hosting Open Mic Evening every week beneath the basket, with each heart on the roster welcome to showcase their abilities till Mazzulla decides it’s time for a change.
Minott has no problem with that.
“It forces all of us to grasp that it might be anybody’s alternative that night time,” Minott mentioned. “And what I like about that’s you must get up every day and notice, I’ve to lock in, as a result of I might be the one to assist us affect profitable that night time. So all 15, 16 — nevertheless many people there are — you simply gotta get up every day and perceive, like, ‘This might be my night time to essentially assist us affect profitable.’”
