A frustrated Donovan Mitchell only had 2 free throws in Game 1 loss. 'I don't flop'

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It was because Brown said NBA officials have an “agenda” against him. That’s a wallet opener that Mitchell didn’t want to copy. But he, like Brown, is frustrated, and he let it be known after the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 111-101 loss to the Detroit Pistons in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference second-round series. “I feel like that’s what I got to do at this point,” Mitchell said, suggesting that he needs to exaggerate the contact he’s taking on drives because he is not getting calls. “I’m trying to get downhill, trying to get to the bucket, people are in my way and I’m trying to get through contact. I’m not getting these calls. … I don’t know why. I don’t flop. Maybe that’s why.” Mitchell scored 23 points for Cleveland on 9-of-19 shooting. He took just two free throws in the game, and in eight playoff games he’s attempted just 18 foul shots. In his first playoff run with the Cavs back in 2023, which lasted all of five games, he attempted a career low 18 playoff free throws. Heading into Game 1 in Detroit, Mitchell was averaging about eight (of his roughly 21 total shots) per game from inside 10 feet. Ten of the 19 shots he took Tuesday night were from 3s, so it’s not like Mitchell is simply standing around the perimeter, hoping an official takes pity on him and blows the whistle. He is trying to get into the lane, using that windmill gather move (where he scoops the ball over the defender while Euro-stepping) to get near the rim. He is, or insists he is, drawing contact, and not getting the benefit of it. The same could be said for Cleveland in Game 1. The Pistons were 27-of-35 from the foul line to the Cavs’ 15-of-16. The Cavs’ defenders weren’t complaining about a quick whistle against them; Detroit effectively used its size on the perimeter and in the lane with Jalen Duren to draw noticeable contact and get to the line. But they did notice they had not received the same attention from the officials when they were the ones drawing contact. “The free-throw disparity is not why we lost; I want to make sure I say that,” Mitchell said. “I’m just going to continue to plead with him to get to the paint, get to the rim. That’s all you can do,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said. “That’s all you control. We just got to keep driving the ball. We meet aggressiveness with aggressiveness, and then we’ve got to make the right reads. So keep getting to the paint and it’ll turn, and usually does with the free throws.” The Cavs have a lot to clean up after Game 1, but they only need towels and perhaps a small mop, instead of industrial vacuums and hazmat suits. Any time they lose in the playoffs, there is an urge to complain about the exorbitant payroll, or the fact that Mitchell has never been out of the second round, or that Harden has never won a title. The added pressure in this series is that J.B. Bickerstaff was fired from the Cavs after losing in the second round two years ago. There was never a good reason given for the firing. Atkinson was supposed to be an upgrade. Either he, or the players responsible for tuning Bickerstaff out, need to prove the Cavs’ judgment was sound for making that decision. But a loss in Game 1 of a series on short rest? Nah, too early for that stuff. The turnovers have bothered them for two weeks now, and Cleveland was awful in that department again in Game 1 (20 for 31 points). James Harden nearly finished with a triple, no, quadruple double, among his 22 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and seven turnovers. But these turnovers look so silly, so beneath players like Harden, that it seems the Cavs could get them under control if they really put their mind to it. They also lost shooters at the end of the first and third quarters for 3s that were buzzer-beaters. Jarrett Allen was ineffective because of three first-quarter fouls, which Atkinson said hosed the Cavs’ rhythm and rotations. (Fine, he didn’t say “hosed,” but he meant it. We’re all still getting Toronto out of our systems, folks). Over his last six games, Mitchell is averaging 20.5 points. For the first part of this season, he was averaging 30. He is not getting to the foul line (he averaged 6.1 foul shots during the regular season, and 9.9 of them during last year’s playoff run, so the 2.3 he’s averaging in these playoffs is way below where he should be). Teams are also applying pressure to him with multiple defenders, and in Detroit’s case, bigger, handsy defenders who use contact on him even when he doesn’t have the ball. Ausar Thompson, who finished third in the NBA Defensive Player of the Year voting, guarded Mitchell on Tuesday. “This is a really good defensive team, but at the end of the day you still have to find ways to be productive,” Mitchell said. “Thompson is a hell of a defender, so is (Daniss) Jenkins, and all these guys. They play great team defense as well, so just have to find a way to be productive.” Overall, these were two teams coming off of Game 7s with almost no time to prepare for a new series. There is a lot of familiarity between the Pistons and Cavs, starting with Bickerstaff. But this was bound to be a Game 1 short on strategy and precision, long on playing to one’s own strengths, and locking in on details for Game 2. The Cavs were loose on details Tuesday and turned the ball over too much and also had to adjust to Allen’s foul trouble. Among the adjustments one might expect from them in Game 2 is Mitchell selling the contact he’s drawing with a dramatic fall or two in the paint. To Brown’s point, it may have worked for Embiid in Game 7 of the Sixers’ win over Boston. Embiid, playing defense, was routinely knocked to the ground by smaller players (including Brown) and got the calls. If he takes more free throws, he won’t call his method a flop. If Game 2 goes the way Mitchell hopes, Detroit might. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms