The last match against the Nuggets was not his best, with 7 points on 3/8 shooting. But Josh Minott had better performances in previous preseason games, with 22 points against the Lakers, or 18 points against the Bulls.
After two first seasons during which he played little, each time playing less than 100 minutes per campaign in total, will the 21-year-old winger fully integrate the Wolves rotation?
“He was always a sort of X factor” assures Chris Finch, his coach. “We throw him into the game and he will intercept a ball, he will go for an alley-oop on the counterattack, he will recover an offensive rebound. He has this thing that makes things happen. Sometimes it was bad and sometimes it was good. Now it's mostly good. »
Too afraid to make mistakes
The 45th choice of the 2022 Draft assures that it is linked to a change of mentality, in his approach to the game.
“Three quarters of the way through last season, my mindset changed. Before that, I was very scared” he describes. “When I arrived in this league, I was afraid of failing, of making mistakes. I wanted to be the perfect player. I wanted to impress the coach and all that. But it wasn't mentally healthy, and it didn't help to stress like that. »
Chris Finch notes that Josh Minott is much more relaxed since he understood that not everything is called into question with every action. And that he doesn't have to rehash every error or approximation.
“It’s probably the most obvious in his shooting” explains the coach. “His shot is in place. His skill is good (59.5% overall success including 50% by far in preseason). He shoots without hesitation. »
How would Josh Minott define his new mentality? “Hakuna matata” he smiles like this…
| Josh Minott | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2022-23 | MIN | 15 | 6 | 50.0 | 33.3 | 100.0 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 3.1 |
| 2023-24 | MIN | 32 | 3 | 47.2 | 40.0 | 85.7 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 1.6 |
| Total | 47 | 4 | 48.6 | 37.5 | 90.9 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 2.0 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
