BOSTON — In his Celtics debut at TD Garden, Josh Minott slammed home a windmill dunk and got fouled on a three-point attempt.
In turn, Minott finished his first home game as a Celtic with 16 points, 6 rebounds, an assist, and a block, impacting the game in a variety of ways in his 23 minutes of action.
And, he did it all in front of a home crowd that he proclaimed was the best preseason crowd he’s ever played in front of.
“It was surreal,” Minott told CelticsBlog after the 138-107 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Celtics’ preseason home opener came on the heels of a two-game road trip that included stops in Memphis and Toronto; Memphis’s FedEx Forum was strikingly empty, while the ScotiaBank Arena in Toronto was undoubtedly rowdier, particularly as the Raptors mounted a comeback.
But, neither arena rivaled TD Garden’s — nor did Minott’s previous preseason stops through his three-year NBA tenure.
“I feel like all across the league, fans aren’t really at these games, or putting any importance on them,” Minott said. “It’s usually just scattered around people, die-hard fans. But here it’s just like, man. The whole city, it just seems like everybody’s a die-hard fan.”
Josh Minott has been a standout through preseason so far
On Sunday, the 22-year-old continued his strong preseason play, hitting 5 of 9 field goal attempts off the bench.
After his fourth quarter and-one three-pointer, Minott shot back to his feet and immediately struck a celebratory pose, drawing a chuckle from Baylor Scheierman, who found him on the wing for the shot.
“The crowd might have to chill out,” Minott said. “Because I was feeling invincible.”
Throughout training camp, Minott — who signed a two-year, minimum contract with the Celtics — earned praise from his teammates.
“He definitely comes in with that excitement, that joy — and he’s one of those guys that is just excited for his opportunity,” said Derrick White. “And he can do a lot of different things out there on court, and guards multiple positions, and just kind of be a pest out there. And so he’s been great for us this whole preseason. He’s just always listening, learning, wants to just keep getting better and show what he can do.”
Minott has put together three strong performances through the preseason so far.
But on Sunday, there was an extra pep in his step.
It might have had something to do with Boston’s special basketball environment.
“I was just feeding off the energy,” he said. “Just to have that home atmosphere here, it’s just real welcoming. There’s nothing like it.”
