Cavs Star Donovan Mitchell Urges NBA To Change Problematic Rule

Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell was incensed after his team’s loss against the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night.

During the 128-122 defeat, the Cavaliers were constantly battling the Magic and the NBA officials.

According to cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor, Mitchell immediately watched the final minutes of the game in his locker at the Kia Center in Orlando. He saw something that bothered him, and called out the NBA to change a big rule this offseason.

Down the stretch, Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson needed to challenge multiple calls from the officiating crew. The Cavs had two successful challenges, but they found themselves without the ability to challenge any more plays – even though they were successful.

“I’m having a hard time with the rule of once you’ve had two challenges you can’t get any more, especially when you win both,” Mitchell said. “If you’re winning challenges, especially on calls that are very obvious, I think it’s something that should be talked about.”

The loss was Cleveland’s second in their last three games. The Cavaliers didn’t play their best basketball in Orlando, but the outcome of the game was certainly impacted by officiating. The Cavs were storming back in the fourth quarter, but they were never able to gain momentum due to repeated stops in the action.

According to Mitchell, the Cavs would’ve continued to challenge obvious missed calls had they been allowed to. Immediately following the game, fellow star James Harden agreed that Wednesday night against the Magic was a missed opportunity for the Cavaliers to secure a victory.

"Just trying to hopefully get adapted. Nights like this are very tough. We beat some really good teams, and then we come out here -- obviously Orlando is a good team still. A game we should have won, and we should win,” Harden said.

On Sunday afternoon, the Cavaliers were embarrassed by the Boston Celtics at Rocket Arena. The Cavs responded nicely by decimating the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday. But poor free throw shooting matched with bad officiating caused the Cavaliers to drop another game – causing the team’s top player and leader to push the NBA for a rule change.

What’s next for the Cavs?

Unfortunately for Mitchell and the Cavaliers, the league won’t look into changing that rule until after the NBA Finals.

That means Mitchell, Harden and the Cavaliers need to regroup for a big push into the NBA postseason. The Cavs have two consecutive games against Cooper Flagg and the Dallas Mavericks, where hopefully officiating won’t have too much of a negative impact.