The Cleveland Cavaliers bounced back from a tough season-opening loss against the Toronto Raptors to blow out the Chicago Bulls in their second game of the season. The Cavs ran riot on the Bulls, winning by a score of 128-96, and when all was said and done, it resulted in a very impressive stat from Cedi Osman that Kevin Love made sure to make note of.
Osman finished the game with a ridiculous plus-minus of plus-41 for the Cavs. Kevin Love was astounded by how high Osman’s plus-minus was, and believed it was a record for one of the highest plus-minus totals in NBA history.
“Plus-41 in under 26 minutes has to be a record. It’s got to be up there for the league and the Cavs. I’ve been on him about just playing free. When he plays free and plays with joy, he’s so much better. He’s playing out in transition. He’s slashing to the cup. He hits tough shots. He hits open shots. When he’s playing free and having joy, it’s fun to watch. He’s like a whole different person and whole different player.” – Kevin Love, Cleveland.com
While Osman’s plus-minus total here is quite high, Love will be disappointed to find out that it doesn’t really come close to the record for the highest plus-minus in a single game in NBA history. That would belong to Luc Mbah a Moute, who somehow managed to record a plus-minus of plus-57 in just 26 minutes of action for the Houston Rockets back in 2017.
Still, this shouldn’t take away from Osman’s strong game, it’s clear that Kevin Love’s advice to Osman is helping him improve as a player. If Osman can continue to play at a high level for Cleveland, their already sky high expectations for the season would only manage to get higher.