Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell has a knack for getting off to a hot start in the playoffs. Coming into Tuesday’s game against the Detroit Pistons, Mitchell had scored 30-plus points in nine straight playoff-series openers.
But that streak ended during a 111-101 loss vs. the Pistons on Tuesday. Mitchell led the Cavaliers in points with 23, but fell short of his usual 30-point mark.
It wasn’t for lack of trying. While Mitchell drove the lane consistently during the game, he didn’t get his usual amount of foul calls. Mitchell got to the line just twice in the loss, down from his regular-season average of 6.1 free throws per game.
After the contest, Mitchell explained his lack of free-throw attempts by saying, “I don’t flop, maybe that’s why,” per ESPN.
“I’m just not getting the calls. I don’t know why. I don’t flop, maybe that’s why,” Mitchell said Tuesday. “And this isn’t just a tonight thing. This has been the entire series, and it’s frustrating a little bit, but because I’m such a dynamic driver, right? But I can’t control that. So if they’re not going to call it for me, I got to find a way to finish and do that.”
Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson was also asked about the lack of foul calls on Mitchell. Atkinson was careful with his words, saying he’ll continue to encourage Mitchell to be aggressive and drive the lane, knowing that those calls will eventually come.
Neither Atkinson or Mitchell was willing to go fully in on the refs, especially after Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown got fined for complaining about the officials following a Game 7 loss. Mitchell hinted at Brown’s fine after Tuesday’s game saying a friend of his recently “got fined for talking about flopping.”
The free-throw disparity between the Cavaliers and the Pistons was stark in Game 1. The Pistons attempted 35 free throws in the win. The Cavaliers finished with just 16. In a game separated by just 10 points, that likely made a huge difference.
But Mitchell wasn’t willing to place the blame on free throws after the contest, saying it was “not why we lost.”
Sloppy play by the Cavaliers ultimately sunk the team in Game 1. Guard James Harden struggled in that area, accounting for seven of the team’s 19 turnovers in the contest. Harden took responsibility for his struggles after the game.
Harden finished with 22 points in the loss. He was far more successful getting to the line, and was 9-for-9 on free-throw attempts.
As is often the case during the NBA playoffs, the officials have been a major focus of the postseason thus far. In addition to Brown’s comments, Los Angeles Lakers guards Marcus Smart and Luke Kennard were fined during the team’s first-round series against the Houston Rockets for “questioning the integrity of game officials.”
While those players took it too far, it’s not uncommon to hear players and coaches harp on officiating during the playoffs. When done right, the tactic can be a subtle way to try and influence the officials the rest of the series.
That was likely the goal of both Atkinson and Mitchell following Tuesday’s game. Whether the tactic worked remains to be seen, but both men appear to have made their feelings known in a way that shouldn’t hurt their pocketbooks.
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