Welcome Back to Cleveland Lebron!
On Decemeber 2nd, Lebron James returned to Cleveland to play his old team, the Cavaliers for the first
time since leaving them for the Miami Heat. Lebron left Cleveland for Miami to join his friends Chris
Bosh and Dwyane Wade in hopes of winning the NBA title that has eluded him in Cleveland. There
was speculation that the Heat would surpass the all time best NBA regular season record of 72 wins
and 10 losses by the 1996 Bulls. Lebron’s Miami Heat stumbled into their game against Cleveland
with an 11 – 8 record, while Cleveland had a 7 – 10 record. Lebron received roaring boos and negative
chants from the Cavalier fans in attendance. What does the future hold for Lebron and the Heat? Will
the three super stars win an NBA championship? Or will they even make it to the playoffs?
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1. In order to still beat the Bull’s record 72 wins in a single season record, what will the Heat’s record need
to be for the remainder of the season (there are 82 games in a NBA season)?
2. Find the winning percentage of the 1996 Bulls as well as the Miami Heat’s current record. Write a
sentence or two comparing the two percentages. Which would you say is/was the better team?
3. The Miami Heat 2010 - 2011 season payroll is below. The team carries 15 players, but there are 18
players owed money that were on the roster at one point this season. What percent of the team’s payroll
is devoted to Miami’s big three (James, Bosh, Wade)?
PLAYER
2010 – 2011 SALARY
LeBron James
Chris Bosh
Dwyane Wade
Mike Miller
Udonis Haslem
Joel Anthony
Eddie House
Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Juwan Howard
Jamaal Magloire
Carlos Arroyo
James Jones
Mario Chalmers
Dexter Pittman
Patrick Beverley
Da'Sean Butler
Kenny Hasbrouck
Shavlik Randolph
Jerry Stackhouse
$14,500,000
$14,500,000
$14,000,000
$5,000,000
$3,500,000
$3,300,000
$1,352,181
$1,352,181
$1,352,181
$1,229,255
$1,223,166
$1,069,509
$847,000
$473,604
$473,604
$473,604
$250,000
$250,000
$210,339
TOTALS:
$65,356,624
4. What percent of the total team salary are the other 15 players’ salaries?
5. Cleveland’s team salary is $52,259,067. How does this team salary compare to Lebron’s salary?
Compare the salaries at least two different ways.
6. James, Wade and Bosh are often referred to as “the big three.” The Boston Celtics actually have their
own big three and these three players and their salaries are listed below. Which big three is paid more
and by how much? Try estimating your answer first, then double check by doing the math.
Kevin Garnett $18,800,000
Paul Pierce
$13,876,321
Ray Allen
$10,000,00
7. Lebron does make a lot of money, but did you know that he could have actually been paid more money
by staying in Cleveland or going to play for a different team than the Heat? Lebron and Kobe Bryant
are widely considered the games best players, but Kobe is making $24,806,250 this season. Actually if
Lebron was on the Lakers he would only be the third highest paid player on the team. Lebron makes
less than the Lakers other star player, Pau Gasol, who is making $17,823,000 this season. If the Heat
were to give Lebron a raise so that he makes as much as Pau Gasol, what percent raise would they need
to give him? What percent raise would they need to give him so that he makes as much as Kobe
Bryant?
8. Lebron and his team defeated the Cavilers in his return to Cleveland and the Heat’s record improved to
12 – 8. About half the teams in the NBA make the playoffs each year and to do so they usually need to
finish with a record of at least 42 – 40. What does the Heat’s winning percentage need to be for the
remaining 62 games this season so that they safely make the playoffs? What does their remaining
winning percentage need to be so that they can top the Bulls record 72 win season? What would you
say is the likelihood (probability) of that happening?
Enjoy the NBA season and stay tuned to see what happens with Lebron and the Miami Heat.
Source: http://hoopshype.com/salaries/miami.htm#ixzz170N8VDdQ
http://hoopshype.com/salaries/boston.htm#ixzz170Wf1bgi
http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=9168
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