Celtics Forward Explains Why He Loves When Joe Mazzulla Yells At Him

Boston Celtics fans may have noticed that head coach Joe Mazzulla has a tendency to yell at forward Josh Minott.

The offseason signing said following the team’s win over the Los Angeles Lakers that he didn’t mind when Mazzulla ripped into him. In fact, Minott said that he enjoyed it.

“I asked Josh Minott how he feels about Joe Mazzulla constantly getting on him in games: ‘I love it. You know why? Because it means he’s thinking about me. Every time Joe yells at me, I love it because it’s like, I’m a priority in that moment … I’ll yell back. We love each other,'” Celtics beat writer John Karalis of the Boston Sports Journal posted on Bluesky.

The Memphis product signed a two-year minimum contract with Boston in July and has played in all but one of the team’s first 23 games.

Minott is third on the team in rebounding (career-best 4.9 per game), while also averaging career highs in points (7.5), assists (1.3) and minutes per contest (19.5) and a host of other categories. Minott has also recorded a career-best .508 field goal percentage and .438 three–point field goal percentage thus far and is clearly in Mazzulla’s circle of trust.

“Just constantly communicating,” Mazzulla said of his relationship with Minott, according to a report by Karalis. “He plays a tough role because of his versatility and his ability to – he’s defending ball handlers, he’s defending screeners, they’re changing matchups on him, and just continuing to grow and execute.”