LeBron James had his fewest field goals in 12 years during Game 4

Many people seem surprised that LeBron James is still a superstar-level player, even though he's 41 years of age and in his record 23rd NBA season. But at the same time, some also seem surprised when he has a bad outing, as he did in Game 4 of the Los Angeles Lakers' first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets on Sunday.

He made just two of his nine field-goal attempts, scored only 10 points and had eight turnovers as the Lakers lost, 115-96, and failed to sweep Houston. He went most of the first quarter and all of the second and third quarters without making a single basket, and he simply didn't have it after playing so well over the last few weeks.

It was the first time in 12 years that James had two or fewer made baskets in a game since Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals between his Miami Heat and the Indiana Pacers, according to a tweet by ESPN Insights.

James was coming off a Game 3 performance in which he had 29 points, 13 rebounds, six assists, three steals and one block. In that game, with L.A. trailing by three with under 20 seconds left in the fourth quarter, he knocked the ball away from Reed Sheppard, then nailed the 3-pointer that forced overtime.

Needless to say, L.A. will need him to be at something close to his usual self, whether that means he scores lots of points or drops many assists and gets his teammates many open looks, in order to win Game 5 and end this series.