The Cleveland Cavaliers have been difficult to gauge 20 games into their 2025-26 season because they’ve already been through some highs and lows. Heading into the campaign, a lot of people saw the Cavaliers as the favorites to come out of the Eastern Conference, and they’ve played up to that standard in spurts, as they have already put together multiple winning streaks of three-plus games.
However, it’s felt like whenever the Cavaliers have found a rhythm this season, they’ve followed up that winning stretch with a rough patch, and they own just the No. 6 seed in the East currently with a 12-8 record. While that record is far from the worst in the league, they were 17-3 through as many games played last season.
With all of that in mind, let’s break down several reasons as to why the Cavaliers have failed to meet expectations nearly a quarter into their campaign.
1. Evan Mobley’s sluggish start
After Mobley enjoyed a career year scoring the ball last season, the hope was that he would take that next step as a bucket-getter this season. That hope hasn’t exactly come to fruition.
He’s just barely increased his scoring average compared to last season and seen his efficiency drop. Mobley is shooting a career-low 49.0 percent from the field so far in his fifth NBA campaign, and he has struggled at the free-throw line with a percentage of just 60.3.
Not only that, but with the month of November nearing its end, he hasn’t dropped 25-plus points in a single game all month.
If he can’t get back to putting the ball through the net with better accuracy and prolificness, Cleveland will be unable to live up to its lofty expectations this season — it’s really that simple.
2. The pesky Toronto Raptors
Perhaps no team in the Eastern Conference has been a bigger positive surprise this season than the Raptors, who, with a record of 14-6, own the second-best mark in the conference. Unfortunately, a lot of the Raptors’ success this season has come at the expense of the Cavaliers.
The two teams have already faced off three times since the start of the campaign, with the Raptors coming out on top in every one of those matchups. Plus, all of those Cavaliers losses came by double digits. Their most recent loss to the Raptors was on Nov. 24. Cleveland lost by a score of 110-99 after Raptors forward Brandon Ingram dropped a game-high 37 points.
It’s incredible that one team has accounted for nearly half of the Cavaliers’ losses already this season, but fortunately, they won’t cross paths with the Raptors again in the regular season.
3. Road woes
Sometimes, what separates the best teams in the NBA from the rest of the pack is that they are able to stack up wins on the road as well as at home. While the Cavaliers were great on the road last season, this season has been a different story.
The Cavaliers have a road record below the .500 mark. Of their nine road games this season so far, they’ve won only four of them.
In fact, their current skid is indicative of how they’ve fared away from the friendly confines of Rocket Arena to kick off the campaign. The Cavaliers are losers of each of their last two games played, with those losses coming on the road at the hands of the Raptors and Atlanta Hawks.
4. Lack of stability at point guard
The Cavaliers are a relatively deep team, but if there’s one position they’ve lacked stability at this season, it’s been the all-important point guard spot.
First off, starting point guard Darius Garland has missed a lot of games thanks to his toe injury, as he’s appeared in just six of Cleveland’s 20 contests. Garland’s situation headlines another key storyline which is that the injury bug hasn’t been kind to the Cavs. The guard is back to being a consistent presence now, but he hasn’t looked like his All-Star self yet.
Moreover, veteran Lonzo Ball has given the Cavaliers a mixed bag of production in his maiden season in Cleveland. While he’s done a solid job playmaking for his teammates, he’s also mired in a shooting slump, as he’s shooting just 30.4 percent from the field and 28.2 percent from deep.
This is a position the team is going to need to be able to trust more as the season continues.
5. Losing the track meet too often?
Of all the reasons why the Cavaliers have underperformed, this one might be the most overlooked, but opposing teams are killing them in transition.
“For us to be as good as we are defensively, the way to beat us — people think — is to try to push,” Cavs star Donovan Mitchell said after Friday’s loss to Atlanta. “And we just have to adjust. And we didn’t tonight. But that’s the upsetting part.”
This season, Cleveland has relinquished 16.4 fast-break points per contest on average. Only eight teams around the league are doing a worse job at preventing fast-break points on a game-to-game basis.
Giving up easy baskets at the rate the Cavaliers have is a great recipe to lose games, and hopefully for the sake of their title pursuit, they will be a lot better at limiting points in that area going forward.