Cavs got stranded in Miami overnight and Mitchell wants tonight's Mavs game canceled — should the NBA just postpone it?
Cleveland lost 133-121 to the Heat on Friday night, then got stuck in Miami overnight waiting on a new pilot. The revised plan is an 8am bus and a 9am flight back to Cleveland for a 6:30pm tip against the Mavericks tonight. Donovan Mitchell was asked if he wanted the game canceled and said yeah, for sure — unprecedented, back-to-back, three-hour flight. The Cavs have already lost five of their last seven and they are banged up. Is it fair to make them play this one, or is this just the NBA schedule and they should suit up like everyone else?
1 answer
- Postpone it — the rest math is brutal
Postpone it. The numbers are brutal: a 133-121 loss, an overnight stuck in Miami, a 9am flight and a 6:30pm tip is a 36-hour turnaround with no real sleep. Teams on the second night of a back-to-back after travel already underperform, and this is worse than a normal back-to-back. The league has postponed games for a lot less than a team being physically unable to get home. Player safety beats a Saturday TV slot.