The play in Celtics' first win that exemplifies Mazzulla's desired team mentality

Slightly more than midway through the first half of the Boston Celtics' 122-90 win against the New Orleans Pelicans, Josh Minott was in the perfect position to help against a Saddiq Bey drive, play the passing lane, and be able to recover should the ball get to his primary assignment, Jordan Poole. It never did.

Instead, Minott, utilizing his seven-foot wingspan, helped take away the drive, then stuck his arm into the passing lane and intercepted Bey's pass. Hitting the turbo button, he burst down the floor on his way to a breakaway jam.

But when the fourth-year wing tried to swing on the rim to gather himself after his two-handed overhead slam, he lost his grip on the cylinder and crashed to the hardwood.

Fortunately, the 22-year-old hopped back up. Minott quickly jumped into the passing lane, seeing if he could pick off Jeremiah Fears' inbounds pass to Jordan Poole. It exemplified the mindset his head coach wants his team to operate with this season.

"[He] doesn't have a choice," said Joe Mazzulla about Minott leaping to his feet to fight to make an impact on the next play, per Noa Dalzell of Celtics Blog. "You get hurt, you're not playing ever again. So, he's got the right attitude. He almost got a deflection, I think."

The Celtics are going back to a gritty mindframe

Baked into the Celtics' DNA is a love for playing fast, with Bill Russell and Tommy Heinsohn wanting them to turn games into track meets. There's also a gritty element to how they have historically played that perfectly matches the city they call home. The latter helped them knock off the Showtime Los Angeles Lakers in the 1984 NBA Finals.

However, Boston's basketball team hasn't played the role of scrappy underdog in quite some time. Now, the roster is defined by players eager to prove themselves with more responsibility.

Mazzulla wants this group to be tough, physically and mentally, and to play with an edge. He'd love nothing more than to see the Celtics resemble an intimidating, smash-mouth NFL team.

"It hasn't gone the way we anticipated it, but I think we've gotten better physically, but we've gotten better mentally, and those plays show that," expressed Mazzulla after his team's first win this season. "And you just have to stay hungry, you have to keep fighting, [you have] got to keep chipping away at the identity that we need to create. I think Josh has bought into that, but all of our guys have. We just have to keep going."

Keep in mind that Mazzulla yelled at Jayson Tatum to get up as the Celtics star was writhing in pain on the TD Garden parquet after suffering a bone bruise in his wrist last postseason. Of course, he loved seeing Minott pop up quickly after taking a hard fall.

That act embodied what Boston's bench wants to see from his team physically and mentally. It's paramount that they oblige. Growing into a group that authentically carries itself in this way is a path to giving the Celtics the needed edge.

Whereas they could previously rely on being the most talented team on the floor, this approach offers them a different way to gain an advantage. It's also a way for a group that's hungry to redefine how they are viewed in the NBA to achieve their vision.