Cleveland Cavaliers All-NBA and All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell has had an up-and-down playoffs so far, but the Cavaliers reached the Eastern Conference semifinals anyway.
The Cavaliers visited the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena for Game 1 of the series on Tuesday night. The Pistons led by as many as 18 points and won, 111-101. Mitchell tied Pistons All-Star guard Cade Cunningham for a game-high 23 points, but his frustration continued. He only made one trip to the free-throw line.
“I want to separate this from the game [because] the free-throw disparity is not why we lost tonight,” Mitchell told reporters after the game. “I want to make sure I say that, but I don’t know. I’m trying to get downhill. A friend of mine got fined for talking about flopping, so I’m not going to try to double down, but I mean, I feel like that’s what I’ve gotta do at this point.”
Mitchell was likely referring to Boston Celtics All-Star Jaylen Brown, whom the NBA fined $50,000 earlier Tuesday for criticizing referees on a Twitch stream.
“I’m trying to get downhill, trying to get to the bucket, and sometimes, people are in my way, and I’m trying to fight through contact, and I’m not getting these calls,” Mitchell said, adding, “I’m just not getting the calls. I don’t know why. I don’t flop. Maybe that’s why. This isn’t just a tonight thing; this has been the entire [playoffs], and it’s frustrating a little bit because I’m such a dynamic driver, but I can’t control that.”
Mitchell clarified he’s “never one to sit here and complain” and reiterated that free throws didn’t cost the Cavaliers Game 1.
The Pistons went 27-for-35 at the free-throw line, while the Cavaliers went 15-for-16. Mitchell may not want to blame the Cavaliers’ loss on the Pistons taking double the free throws, but it definitely played a role at the very least. Basketball games, especially NBA playoff games, can never be distilled this simply. But on a basic math level, the Cavaliers lost by 10 points, and Detroit made 12 more free throws than Cleveland.
That said, Cleveland also committed 20 total turnovers, while Detroit committed 12. Former NBA MVP James Harden was responsible for seven of those turnovers.
“Tonight was James Harden’s 181st playoff game,” FS1’s “First Things First” host Nick Wright wrote on X. “It was also the 45th playoff game that he’s had as many or more turnovers than made field goals, which is nearly exactly 25% of his career playoff games.”
Harden finished with 22 points on 6-of-15 shooting from the floor, though he did go 9-for-9 on free throws. He added eight rebounds and seven assists, but he only cared about his inadvertent assists to the Pistons when joining Mitchell in the postgame presser.
“You look within first, and you look at my turnovers, and a lot of them were just on me — nothing they did,” Harden said. After Mitchell informed him that the Pistons scored 31 points off the Cavaliers’ turnovers, Harden threw up his hands and said, “That’s the game. Nothing else.”
Game 2 is scheduled for Thursday at 7 p.m. EST on Prime Video.
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