Cavaliers fall to 4-18 without LeBron since his return to Cleveland

To the surprise of absolutely no one, the reigning NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers are far less efficient without their King, LeBron James, in the starting lineup, and they proved it again Monday night at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

Head coach Tyronn Lue elected to sit the four-time league Most Valuable Player when the Cavaliers took on the Detroit Pistons, giving him the night off after taking into account the team's ongoing, unforgiving stretch of five outings in seven days.

The Cavaliers rank 25th in the Association in second-unit points at 30 per game, so they're not exactly deep. Replacing someone of James' caliber is next to impossible anyway. Even with stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love at the forefront, their combined efforts were no match for the Pistons in a blowout 106-90 loss.

It was the 22nd time the team has competed without James since he returned to the organization prior to the start of the 2014-15 season. Its 4-18 record is as good an indication as any that Cleveland simply can't go without him for an extended period - and has been lucky to avoid such an absence.

(Courtesy: Basketball-Reference.com)