Unhappy homecoming: LeBron James has one of the worst games of his career vs. Cavaliers in Cleveland as 76ers go down

James received a loud, enthusiastic cheer from the Cavaliers fans when he was introduced, and there was a noticeable excitement and anticipation when he did his trademark chalk toss at the scorer's table prior to the game.

He is still a legend in Cleveland since he returned to his local team and led them to a championship.

James has played 11 of his 24 NBA seasons as a member of the Cavaliers, and he has played hundreds of games in that arena throughout his career. Cleveland fans are used to him mostly dominating in those games or, at the very least, putting on a great show. He simply did not have it on Friday. As good as James still is, and as good as this 76ers team is around him, there might be more nights like this just based on the fact he is playing in his age-42 season. He can still channel his greatness and take over games, and he can still be a major contributor, but he is not going to do it as consistently as he once did. Cleveland fans (and the 76ers) had a taste of that on Friday. 

What made it even tougher for the 76ers to overcome on Friday is that he was not the only one of their stars to struggle. Joel Embiid also had a brutal night offensively, going 0-of-9 from the field. He did make six foul shots to finish with six points, but he was pretty much a non-factor offensively. 

The 76ers are still 8-2 to open the season and look very much like a contender after a great offseason that saw them acquire both James and Jaylen Brown. Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley finished with 23 and 22 points, respectively, for the Cavaliers in the win.