Josh Minott continued his hot start to the season in the Boston Celtics’ 107-136 blowout win over the Washington Wizards. Minott, who joined the Celtics as a free agent on a two-year deal this summer, has quickly established himself within Joe Mazzulla’s rotation. Over the first nine games of the season, Minott has been part of the starting lineup six times and appears to have cemented himself as the team’s starting power forward. Against Washington, Minott’s full skill set was on display, as he ended the night with 21 points, five rebounds and three steals on 8-of-12 shooting. Even with the Celtics up by 30 in the fourth quarter, Joe Mazzulla held Minott accountable when he believed the young forward had begun to take his foot off the gas. The Celtics’ head coach could be seen tearing into Minott as he headed into a fourth-quarter timeout. Minott addressed that moment during his postgame news conference. “I mean, he just wanted to push me,” Minott said via CLNS Media. “That’s it. You know, I was messing up defensively. And that’s really it. He was just very energetically telling me what I did wrong. That’s it.” However, you won’t find Minott complaining. Since joining the Celtics, he’s been given the opportunity to establish himself as a genuine talent in the NBA. Mazzulla’s hard-nosed style of coaching appears to be resonating with the 22-year-old. Story continues below advertisement “[Mazzulla] was coaching me for the future,” Minott explained. “You understand, though, you know, maybe the game is necessarily—I would consider it won by then—but we’reworking for the future. Man, there’s never a let-up, you know. So it’s like now we’reusing that time as a lesson or the future.” If Minott can continue to produce at his current high level, he must be viewed as a steal of the summer. He is due $2.3 million in salary this year and a potential $2.5 million next year if the Celtics pick up his team option. For such a low cap hit, Minott is already exceeding expectations in Boston. The Celtics’ win over Washington ended a two-game slide. As such, Boston will head into Friday’s NBA Cup game against the Orlando Magic with the opportunity to start generating some momentum and defining its identity on both sides of the floor. Story continues below advertisement