To say that LeBron James had one of the worst outings in his career Monday against the Minnesota Timberwolves would make many stans angry, but the numbers just don’t lie.
In the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 127-99 blowout loss to Minnesota, James only recorded 10 points on eight shots, even though he played 27 minutes. This playing time was a little lower than normal considering the score was so lopsided, but it’s still rare for James to be rendered that ineffective on the offensive end.
But there was one stat was even more telling. James recording a plus-minus of minus-39, the worst such mark of long and illustrious career, per ESPN Stats and Info.
It was also a team-worst plus-minus, meaning the Cavaliers were at worse when James was on the basketball floor.
That’s not good.
It’s also very rare. James can afford a bad game here and there, mainly because he hardly ever has them. He’s been so dominant for so long that any time James has a subpar game, it catches the eyes of Cavaliers fans and NBA fans alike.
The entire team was trounced so badly that James did not play in the fourth quarter, so he didn’t have an opportunity to improve his stat line. He did, however, finish with eight rebounds and five assists. So there was definitely some positive play from the team’s best player.
It’s safe to say that James will not have another outing like this any time soon. The Timberwolves just had one of those nights where everything clicked on both ends of the floor, and the Cavaliers fell victim to it.
Don’t be surprised if James goes for 40 in the near future and ends up a plus-4,000,000.