Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell admitted that he would have preferred the NBA to cancel Saturday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks following significant travel disruptions.

The Cavaliers were unable to return home from Miami on Friday night because of a nationwide ground stop that delayed or canceled flights throughout the United States.

Instead, Cleveland departed Miami at approximately 9:00 AM on Saturday, arriving home around noon ahead of its scheduled 7:30 PM game against Dallas.

The unexpected delay made an already challenging back-to-back schedule even more difficult for the Cavaliers, who had played in Miami the previous evening.

Mitchell expressed concern about the limited recovery time and the additional demands placed on the players.

“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.”

When asked whether he would have preferred the NBA to cancel the matchup under those circumstances, Mitchell gave a direct response.

“Me, personally, yeah for sure.”