Lebron James disappeared, Isaiah Thomas tossed - what's with the Cavaliers


Lebron James is still The Basketball King until another player takes the crown, but the Monarch was missing last night in a 127-99 loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves. You know something was off with the Cavaliers when Jeff Green steals the show. On the plus/minus scale, Green was +7 to James' -39, a 46-point differential. Lebron finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Green had 22 points on 9-of-15 from the field and 3-of-5 on threes, while adding three rebounds and three assists.


James didn't get much help from Kevin Love who shot 1-of-7 from the floor, scoring three points and grabbing two rebounds. The Wolves' Jimmy Butler matched Lebron's plus/minus number of 39, but it was on the plus side, not minus. Jimmy also had eight rebounds, nine assists and three steals. He played a hell of a game.

Isaiah Thomas, in his third game back from injury, didn't add much, scoring nine points on 3/11 from the floor and 1/5 from beyond the arc. His plus/minus was -20. What he did accomplish was getting tossed from the game in the third quarter for a flagrant-2 foul on Andrew Wiggins. The foul was a classic clothesline job, a la Kevin McHale-on-Kurt Rambis, without the after-foul dramatics. Readers can review the foul on the video below:



As for Lebron's mediocre performance, he may just be going into All-Star weekend a bit early. He is never down for very long. Kevin is just too talented to have many more games like this one, and Isaiah is only into his third game this season and still scraping off the rust. But the chip-on-the-shoulder is always there, and we all wonder when he will go on a scoring binge.

There is always drama that surrounds Lebron James, and therefore, it also surrounds whatever team he is playing for at the moment. No one yet knows what team he will be playing for next year or what his contract will look like. There are already rumors that DeAndre Jordan may be heading to Cleveland via trade that may include the ever-moving former Nets draft pick, now owned by the Cavaliers. The only sure thing is that The King won't be missing for long. Tough to remain out of view with a glorious crown on your head.

Follow Tom at @TomLaneHC

Photo via sportsgrid
Video via Green Mode

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