Once a key early-season contributor, Minott’s second straight absence underscores how far he’s fallen in Boston’s forward rotation.
On Thursday, the Celtics (23-13) announced forward Josh Minott would be missing his second consecutive game on Friday as he continues to deal with an injured ankle.
In addition to Minott’s absence, Jayson Tatum remains out, as expected, as he continues his recovery from his surgically repaired Achilles.
Toronto (23-15), meanwhile, enters the night with its own uncertainty, as Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram are both listed as questionable. They’re already shorthanded, as Jakob Poeltl has already been ruled out with a lower back sprain.
With the Celtics looking to bounce back after their loss on Wednesday to a Nikola Jokic-less Nuggets (25-12), Minott being MIA isn’t a massive blow to that effort, as he’s fallen out of the rotation of late compared to the minutes he was getting early in the season.
While he’s averaging 17.6 minutes per game this season, here’s what his minutes have looked like since December 7:
- 11 minutes vs. Toronto
- 22 minutes vs. Bucks
- 13 minutes vs. Pistons
- 7 minutes vs. Heat
- 17 minutes vs. Toronto
- 9 minutes vs. Pacers
- DNP-Coach’s Decision vs. Pacers
- DNP-Coach’s Decision vs. Trail Blazers
- DNP-Coach’s Decision vs. Jazz
- DNP-Coach’s Decision vs. Kings
- 3 minutes vs. Clippers
It’s not a coincidence that Minott’s downtick in minutes has coincided with Jordan Walsh’s uptick in importance to the 2025-26 Celtics.
Jan 1, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; Boston Celtics forward Josh Minott (8) warms up before the game against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. (Dennis Lee/Imagn Images)MORE CELTICS STORIES:
Before the season started, there was a groundswell on Celtics Twitter to have Minott compete for a spot in the starting five. Parallel to that, fans and media alike (including me) were thinking out loud about what Walsh’s future was with the Celtics, as the third-year forward had not yet shown an ability to have an impact on the game on either end of the floor.
Fast forward to now, and Walsh has shown a consistent ability to play defense at an elite level, on top of being an efficient scorer both from deep and in the paint. He’s been an absolute revelation, and has been a huge part of the reason why the Celtics are currently the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference despite their best player in Tatum not yet playing this season.
When he was part of the rotation early in the year, Minott had been a pleasant surprise after barely seeing the floor in his first three seasons in the NBA while playing for Minnesota. But with Walsh and Minott filling similar roles, it appears the Arkansas product has supplanted the former Timberwolf in the rotation moving forward.
Could what we saw early in the year from Minott be enough to use him as a trade chip while looking for more help at center this upcoming trade deadline?
Dec 19, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Miami Heat guard Dru Smith (12) drives the ball against Boston Celtics forward Josh Minott (8) in the first quarter at TD Garden. (David Butler II/Imagn Images)JOIN THE CONVERSATION:
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Tom Carroll is a contributor for Roundtable, with boots-on-the-ground coverage of all things Boston sports. He's a senior digital content producer for WEEI.com, and a native of Lincoln, RI.