Donovan Mitchell did not take long to vent his frustrations after the Cleveland Cavaliers dropped Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals to the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night.
Recording 23 points in the 111-101 road loss, but getting just 2 free-throw attempts all night, Mitchell was critical of him and his team not receiving favorable calls.
Fans Reject Donovan Mitchell’s ‘Flopping’ Excuses After Game 1 Loss to Detroit
The Pistons outmuscled Cleveland down the stretch at Little Caesars Arena as Jalen Duren took over the closing minutes of the game with three consecutive dunks off feeds from Cade Cunningham to help break a late tie.
The massive free-throw disparity ultimately irked Mitchell the most.
In comparison to the Pistons’ 35 attempts, the Cavs took only 16 trips to the charity stripe. Discussing the lack of calls, Mitchell admitted that officiating was not the reason for the defeat.
“I want to separate this from the game. The free-throw disparity is not why we lost tonight. I want to make sure I say that.”
He did bring up Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown’s recent livestream, in which Brown criticized officials and discussed flopping, earning Him a $50,000 fine.
Donovan Mitchell on the FT disparity:
“A friend of mine got fined for talking about flop but that’s what I gotta do at this point. I’m trying to get downhill and to the bucket. I’m just not getting the calls. I don’t know why. I don’t flop maybe that’s why.” pic.twitter.com/rUgEjoVR4m
— ¹⁰ (@HoodiGarland) May 6, 2026
“I’m trying to get downhill, and a friend of mine got fined for talking about flopping, so I’m not going to double down, but I feel like that’s what I have to do. I’m trying to get to the bucket, and sometimes my people are in my way, I’m trying to fight through contact, and I’m not getting these calls,” Mitchell said.
The numbers back his argument, as Mitchell averaged 6.1 free-throw attempts during the regular season. That number plummeted to just 2.3 attempts during the playoffs so far.
Fans offered zero sympathy for the seven-time All-Star’s complaints, with one user writing, “you weren’t getting fouled.”
“Here come the excuses,” another user posted.
Here come the excuses
— Tyler Breithaupt (@smxsho) May 6, 2026
“He talking about Jaylen,” one user said.
“.@OfficialNBARefs look out for him flopping in game too. Unethical hooper,” another remarked.
“If you’re not getting calls, you adjust instead of complaining,” one user bluntly stated.
If you’re not getting calls, you adjust instead of complaining.
— Devana💜 (@devana1125) May 6, 2026
“He gon get fined for talking about JB talking about flopping,” one user predicted.
Cade Cunningham (23 points) continued to lead the charge for the Pistons. Cleveland simply did not help its case in Game 1. James Harden committed a game-high 7 turnovers as the team failed to put sustained pressure on Detroit.
Another disjointed performance from Cleveland on Thursday could very well spell an end to its championship hopes this season.
