Evan Mobley remains the most tantalizingly frustrating player to wear a Cleveland Cavaliers uniform in a long time.
In one instance, he can flash the potential to be one of the best players in the NBA. In the next, he can disappear entirely.
And in some ways, that sums up exactly what happened to the Cavs on Thursday night in their season opener in Philadelphia against the 76ers and LeBron James.
Mobley and the Cavs started strong.
Mobley and the Cavs finished with a whimper.
If Cleveland continues to get this version of Mobley and not an elevated one, they’ll still run into the occasional disappointing night like this one.
Evan Mobley Disappearing Act
Mobley, as he so often is, was great in the first half on Thursday night. He looked like the transcendent talent that the Cavaliers want him to be.
Just in the first half, he had 15 points and six rebounds.
The problem, though, is that Mobley finished with 18 points and eight rebounds.
After halftime, he had three points and two rebounds.
Evan Mobley in the 1st half: 15 Points and 6 Rebounds
Evan Mobley finished with: 18 Points and 8 Rebounds
Same old story.
— Matt (@sixringsofsteeI) October 23, 2026
This might not all be on Mobley. Some fans were pointing out on social media that the guards are to blame for this.
@sixringsofsteeI Pressure turns up and the Cavs guards can’t ever get the bigs involved. Did JA even take a shot in the second half? Wish those guys would just start forcing shots but neither of them are that type of player
— Nick (@NickJG216) October 23, 2026
There’s plenty that causes Mobley to go quiet like this, though. He’s not particularly assertive in the paint. He still sometimes doesn’t seem strong enough. He’s still not a good enough perimeter shooter.
Sometimes, that adds up to a quiet stretch, and it helped cost the Cavs on Thursday night.
LeBron’s Historic Comeback
Playing his first home game in Philadelphia, LeBron James helped the 76ers pull off something crazy.
The Cavs led this game by 29 points at one point. Those kinds of scorelines are never lost.
Sixers trailed by 29 and won …
– Biggest comeback win for LeBron
– Biggest Philly comeback/Cleveland blown lead of play-by-play era (since 1996-97)
– Cleveland was 155-0 since ’96 in such games, Philly 0-156
– NBA teams had won 466 straight with 29-pt leads in regular season— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) October 23, 2026
The fact that James has never had a comeback win as large as this one is remarkable. He’s 41 years old and now in his 24th NBA season. Sure, he’s an all-time great so he doesn’t normally get down this big — but still, it’s remarkable for LeBron to do something he’s never done before.
It’s just ironic that it was against James’ original, hometown team.
At the end of the night, the Cavs had to head back to Cleveland disappointed. Their players hadn’t stepped up in the second half at all, and so they’re 0-1.
Cavs’ Evan Mobley Disappeared in LeBron James’ Historic Comeback