The Federal Aviation Administration issued a nationwide ground stop for all airports on Friday afternoon, and the Cleveland Cavaliers were among those affected. The Cavaliers were scheduled for a back-to-back on the road against the Miami Heat on Friday and then at home against the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday.
According to Chris Fedor, the Cavaliers had planned on leaving Miami late Friday night, but that plan had to be scrapped. They could only fly back to Cleveland on Saturday morning, and Donovan Mitchell made it clear after the 133-121 loss to the Heat at Kaseya Center that this was far from ideal.
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“This is unprecedented,” Mitchell said. “Back-to-back. Three-hour flight. It was already going to be a tough one. But if they say we have to play then we have to play.”
The Cavaliers took a 9 a.m. flight out of Miami on Saturday, and that game against the Mavericks tips off at Rocket Arena at 7:30 p.m. That is rough, and Mitchell was asked if he’d prefer the NBA cancel the game against the Mavericks.
“Me, personally, yeah, for sure,” Mitchell said.
Unfortunately for Mitchell and the Cavaliers, that game won’t be canceled. They have to suck it up and play.
The FAA issued this group stop at 3:54 p.m. on Friday after experiencing instability in radar and communications involving Air Traffic Control Centers and Terminal Radar Approach Control facilities. It was deemed an extraordinary circumstance.
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This was just the third time this century that a group stop had been issued. The first time was after the 9/11 terror attack and the second was in January 2023. Thousands of flights were canceled on Friday, but the ground stop was lifted at 8:15 p.m.
So, departures resumed at night, but Fedor reports the Cavaliers couldn’t secure a new pilot until Saturday morning. They’ll be heading to the arena for the game against the Mavericks not long after landing, and Mitchell, in his 10th season in the NBA, has never encountered anything like this.
“Never in my time in the league,” Mitchell said. “I think the craziest travel thing I’ve ever had was the COVID situation. Make adjustments. Figure it out. Go from there.”
The Cavaliers go into that Mavericks game in rough shape, as is. They have lost five of their last seven games to drop to 6-7.
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Mitchell had 25 points (9-21 FG), four rebounds, and seven assists against the Heat. We haven’t really seen the best version of the seven-time All-Star this season, and the Cavaliers will be in trouble if this continues. They made it to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2026, and another deep playoff run isn’t looking likely in 2027.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
