Sports fans chanting "overrated" is always a bit cringy because they are in the stands, and the object of their needling is out there competing against other world-class athletes. Plus the person who receives the allegations has to have done enough to be thought of super highly. With Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, at least the chanting makes a bit more sense as he was identified by a player survey this year as the most overrated star in the NBA.

So Cavaliers fans—probably a bit more worried than they'd like to be after dropping the series opener—aimed the chorus at Haliburton as he stepped to the free throw line shortly before halftime in Game 2. It probably didn't bother Haliburton much because getting razzed on the road is all part of playoff basketball.

Cleveland's Donovan Mitchell, though, didn't care much for the development and used his great sway to tell the crowd to knock it off. His request drew almost immediate compliance and efforts were shifted to more traditional free-throw distraction antics like wild arm swinging and high-pitched screaming right at the attempt's release.

That's a class move right there. And perhaps a smart one as one never knows what's going to get an opponent going.


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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Donovan Mitchell Shut Down Cavs Fans Chanting 'Overrated' at Tyrese Haliburton.

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