Maybe Brad Stevens should hit the craps tables at Encore, because his roll of the dice on Josh Minott is paying off in a big way.
The Celtics might be 4-5 after their thrashing of the Washington Wizards, but Minott is 4-2 as a starter for the first time in his professional life. He has either tied or set new career highs in rebounds, assists, and, after scoring 21 against Washington, points as a member of the Celtics.
“He’s huge for us,” Jaylen Brown said after the win. “His energy, his length, his athleticism is big for us. Any time when he brings it like that, we’re a better team. Just encouraging him to be consistent every night and bring that same energy because he’s huge for us.”
Brown is off to maybe the best start of his career. He is scoring at all three levels, getting to the line, and playing patient, under control basketball. He is currently ninth in the NBA in points per game and third in total points. If he keeps playing like this, he’ll not only make an All-NBA team, but he might make some first-team ballots. And despite all this, the Celtics win over the Wizards only brought them to 4-5 so far this season.
Brown can’t do it all by himself.
Payton Pritchard has been pretty good, though his shooting isn’t anywhere near where he wants it to be. Derrick White is trying to shake off a nasty slump so he can provide a boost as the team’s second option. But the key to Boston winning more often than not, and maybe surprising a few people along the way, is getting something from their role players.
Neemias Queta was very good against the Wizards, notching his fourth career double-double. Jordan Walsh was a game-changer in the second quarter, bringing a defensive energy the Celtics were lacking in the first. But once again it was Minott who proved to be a difference-maker.
He rebounded and ran, pushed the ball off steals and caught lobs, and even filled in as a small-ball center.
"I've done it a little bit,” Minott said of playing the five. “I'm trying to work on my versatility defensively every day. I've done it a few times in the past. I'm definitely trying to expand my game to include that five-man role."
This isn’t to say it always worked. Late in the game with Boston up 30, Minott botched a defensive assignment. Joe Mazzulla, never one to let up coaching during a blowout, called a timeout and let Minott have it on his way to the bench.
"He just wanted to push me. That's it,” Minott said. “I was messing up defensively. That's really it. He was very energetically telling me what I did wrong."
Minott said it with a smile, which is the important thing. His understanding of Mazzulla’s intensity and message is what allows that kind of coaching to happen at all. Minott understands that he needs that kind of push.
"We never let up,” Minott said. “We're working for the future, man. There's never a let-up. Now we're using that time as a lesson for the future. That's what he was expressing to me."
Brown has said on multiple occasions that Minott is the kind of player the Celtics have needed in the past. That kind of endorsement is part of why it feels like he’s making himself a part of the team’s future. At some point, Jayson Tatum will return and Brad Stevens will, hopefully, shore up a couple of the holes in the roster. A guy like Minott seems to be a perfect fit for what the Celtics are hoping to do moving forward.
But he’s not thinking of any of that.
"I don't take it for granted. I don't consider I have any staying power,” he said. “I'm trying to go out there like this shit can end tomorrow because it can. It very much can. I'm appreciative that they've trusted me with that. At the end of the day, every time I go out, I assume it can always be taken from me because it very well can be."
In training camp, Minott agreed that desperation was the best way to classify his situation. He was an unknown and an afterthought, with few people factoring him into their analysis of what this Celtics team might be this season. But his work in the preseason and the need for a defense-first wing in the starting lineup pushed him into the spotlight.
Everything is fleeting in the NBA, but Minott’s time in Boston might not be at this rate. Boston lost a lot of talent over the summer, and they need a lot of hustle and hard work to make up for it. Minott is proving he’s just the guy to do it.