This major issue is plaguing the Cleveland Cavaliers so far

For some reason, the Cleveland Cavaliers cannot hit free throws.

And it showed in the team's 114-104 loss to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night. The defeat pushed the Cavaliers' record to 10-6 on the season and slotting them fourth in the Eastern Conference.

Out of the 32 attempts the Cavaliers got from the charity stripe, Cleveland hit just 20 shots for a mark of 62.5% from the line.

Forward De'Andre Hunter, 8-for-8, and guards Tyrese Proctor and Donovan Mitchell, each 2-for-2, were the only three to go perfect. Other than that, there were some major struggles.

And unfortunately, superstar forward Evan Mobley was at the forefront.

He shot an abysmal, 4-of-10 from the line. His misses drastically swayed the game in favor of the Rockets, especially late in the outing.

In the fourth quarter, he missed four-straight shots from the line at the 9:11 and 3:37 marks. His misses within the final four minutes would have cut the difference between the two sides down to single digits.

When asked about his struggles, Mobley was honest with the media.

“It’s very important [making free throws]," he said. "I gotta be better. It’s probably the worst I’ve shot free throws in my whole time playing basketball. Just keep gets reps up, reps up, reps up and we’ll figure it out soon….focus and routine.

"Do it like you do in practice…It’ll change eventually. I’m just gonna keep working till it changes.”

On the season, Mobley's down to 60.4% from the free throw line on an average of nine attempts a night. That places him fourth-to-last on the team, ahead of just guard Craig Porter Jr. and forwards Larry Nance Jr. and Thomas Bryant.

But, it isn't just Mobley that is struggling. The team as a whole is not connecting on these open, free shots when they need to.

The Cavaliers as a team are averaging just 75% from the line. That's good enough for a measly ranking of 25th in the league.

“You've gotta make your free throws,” Cleveland head coach Kenny Atkinson said in his postgame press conference. “Especially, fourth quarter, end of game. It's tough. It's such an important part of the game, especially when you get 32 attempts; you've gotta knock them down. We haven't been good since preseason, really, shooting free throws. We practice them like everybody does."

The team is currently missing two of its best free-throw shooters, guards Darius Garland and Max Strus, due to injury. In the 2024-25 season, Garland shot an incredible 87.8% while Strus was just a tad behind at 82.4%.

Missing them has certainly been an issue for the consistency at the line.

“It'll turn, though. It'll turn," Atkinson said. "We've got good free-throw shooters. So, Darius [Garland] is, obviously, like, what, mid-80s? So that's another guy, Max [Strus], good free-throw shooter. So, we're just not making them right now. It's hurting us.”

Mitchell echoed the sentiments of Atkinson after the loss to the Rockets.

“It's a mental thing, and that's a step for us,” he said. “We got to convert, they're free, they're there, got to put the work and put the time in. I didn't know we were that low, but that's on us. It's a mental thing, going out there, making your free throws. We're doing a good job of getting there, right?”

The Cavaliers' next chance to rewrite this storyline will come on Friday, Nov. 21, with tip-off slated for 7:00 p.m.

Cleveland will play host to the Indiana Pacers from Rocket Arena for the NBA Cup Group stage.