The Cleveland Cavaliers, for some reason, just cannot beat the Toronto Raptors.

For the third time in the 2025-26 campaign, the Cavaliers were beaten by the Raptors, 110-99, this time on Monday, Nov. 24. The Cavaliers looked incredibly inefficient on the offensive end as superstar guard Donovan Mitchell struggled for the first time this season.

In 34 minutes of action, Mitchell scored 17 points, shooting a measly 6-of-20 from the field and 3-of-12 from deep. However, that’s not the focus point of the loss suffered by the Cavaliers.

The spotlight falls onto 2024 Defensive Player of the Year, Evan Mobley.

The Cavs were a -30.4 net rating with Evan Mobley on the floor.

Their REB% jumped by 15.1% with him off the floor as did their dRTG by 39.8 points.

— RealCavsFans.com (@realcavsfans) November 25, 2025

Mobley needed to step up and fill the void that Mitchell had created, especially with him being deemed the No. 2 option for the team. That wasn’t the case though as he scored just 14 points and shot 5-of-7 from the field.

On any other day, that wouldn’t be a bad shooting day, but when Mitchell isn’t knocking down shots Mobley had to take over and show he could pick up the slack.

In the fourth quarter of play, the Raptors were surging, leading by 12 points. Needing a comeback, the Cavaliers look to everyone but Mobley. He took just one field goal attempt in the final quarter of action.

That simply is not good enough.

He also hauled in just five rebounds in a game where the team was without center Jarrett Allen, a drastic underperformance on the glass.

The reality is that Evan Mobley simply needs to be better. He’s been a disappointment considering the expectations entering the year.

It’s the inconsistency that gets to me.

— Mack Perry (@DevaronPerry) November 25, 2025

Whether it’s Mobley’s decision not to get involved, the teammates for not slinging him the rock or a simple coaching error that didn’t draw anything up for the 6-foot-11 forward, it cannot happen again. If Cleveland wants to maximize their potential, Mobley has to get more involved in the offense.

On the season, his numbers now come in at 18.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.1 assists a night. He’s also putting up shooting splits of 49.6% from the field and 36% from beyond the arc.

Before the year began, the expectations placed on Mobley were that he could be the No. 2 guy alongside Mitchell before eventually taking over the No. 1 spot and being the Cavaliers’ poster child.

But right now, that doesn’t look like it’ll be the case.

For reference, players like Jalen Duren and Alperen Sengun are balling out. They’ve been in talks as some of the best big men in the league with Mobley, however, they are out performing him by a long shot.

Sengun currently is averaging 22.4 points, 9.7 rebounds and 7.1 assists a night on really strong splits of 49.0% from the field and 44.2% from the perimeter. While he’s not known for his defense, he also is tacking on 1.1 steals and 0.9 blocks a night.

On the other hand, Duren is ahead of Mobley, too, in season numbers. He has lines of 20.3 points, 11.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists a night. Duren isn’t taking any shots from deep range but is also shooting an incredible 67.1% from the field.

At this point in the season, there’s still a lot of room to grow and improve, but Mobley has to start showing signs of it.

His ceiling is incredibly high, especially with his multi-level scoring, and if he can regain confidence he might be right back to where he should be.

His next chance to hit the court comes on Friday, Nov. 28, against the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA Group stage. The two sides will square away from State Farm Arena with tip-off slated for 7:30 p.m.