2011–12 Detroit Pistons season

The 2011–12 Detroit Pistons season was the 71st season of the franchise, the 64th in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the 55th in the Detroit area. In their first season under head coach Lawrence Frank the team finished with a 25–41 record and in 10th place in the Eastern Conference. In February, center Ben Wallace announced his retirement after 16 seasons, 9 of them spent with the Pistons.^[1]

2011–12 Detroit Pistons season
Head coach	Lawrence Frank
President	Joe Dumars
General manager	Joe Dumars
Owner(s)	Tom Gores
Arena	The Palace of Auburn Hills
Results
Record	25–41 (.379)
Place	Division: 4th (Central) Conference: 10th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	Fox Sports Detroit
Radio	WWJ WXYT-AM FM
< 2010–11 2012–13 >

This was also the Pistons' first season since 2001-02 without Richard Hamilton on the roster as he signed with the Chicago Bulls on December 14, 2011.

Draft picks

Main article: 2011 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College/Team
1	8	Brandon Knight	G	United States	Kentucky
2	33	Kyle Singler	F	United States	Duke
2	52	Vernon Macklin	F	United States	Florida

Roster

2011–12 Detroit Pistons roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From PG 12 Will Bynum 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1983-01-04 Georgia Tech SF 5 Austin Daye 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1988-06-05 Gonzaga SG 8 Ben Gordon 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1983-04-04 Connecticut PF 33 Jonas Jerebko 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 231 lb (105 kg) 1987-03-02 Sweden PG 7 Brandon Knight 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1991-12-02 Kentucky C 20 Vernon Macklin (DL) 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1986-09-20 Florida PF 54 Jason Maxiell 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 260 lb (118 kg) 1983-02-18 Cincinnati C 10 Greg Monroe 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1990-06-04 Georgetown SF 22 Tayshaun Prince 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1980-02-28 Kentucky PG 23 Walker Russell 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1982-10-06 Jacksonville State SG 3 Rodney Stuckey 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1986-04-21 Eastern Washington PF 31 Charlie Villanueva 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 232 lb (105 kg) 1984-08-24 Connecticut C 6 Ben Wallace 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1974-09-10 Virginia Union SF 9 Damien Wilkins 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1980-01-11 Georgia

Head coach Lawrence Frank Assistant(s) Dee Brown Brian Hill Charles Klask John Loyer Bill Pope Roy Rogers Steve Hetzel Mike Abdenour (trainer) Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended (DL) On assignment to D-League affiliate Injured Roster Updated: April 9, 2012

Pre-season

2011 pre-season game log
Pre-season: 1–1 (home: 0–1; road: 1–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 December 16 Cleveland L 87–91 Austin Daye (18) Greg Monroe (13) Brandon Knight (4) The Palace of Auburn Hills 7,927 0–1 2 December 20 @ Cleveland W 90–89 Austin Daye (19) Greg Monroe Jonas Jerebko (7) Brandon Knight (6) Quicken Loans Arena 9,853 1–1
2011–12 season schedule

Regular season

Standings

Central Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div	GP
z-Chicago Bulls	50	16	.758	–	26–7	24–9	13–1	66
x-Indiana Pacers	42	24	.636	8	23–10	19–14	9–4	66
Milwaukee Bucks	31	35	.470	19	17–16	14–19	7–8	66
Detroit Pistons	25	41	.379	25	18–15	7–26	4–11	66
Cleveland Cavaliers	21	45	.318	29	11–22	10–23	3–12	66

Eastern Conference
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB	GP
1	z-Chicago Bulls	50	16	.758	–	66
2	y-Miami Heat *	46	20	.697	4.0	66
3	x-Indiana Pacers *	42	24	.636	8.0	66
4	y-Boston Celtics	39	27	.591	11.0	66
5	x-Atlanta Hawks	40	26	.606	10.0	66
6	x-Orlando Magic	37	29	.561	13.0	66
7	x-New York Knicks	36	30	.545	14.0	66
8	x-Philadelphia 76ers	35	31	.530	15.0	66
9	Milwaukee Bucks	31	35	.470	19.0	66
10	Detroit Pistons	25	41	.379	25.0	66
11	Toronto Raptors	23	43	.348	27.0	66
12	New Jersey Nets	22	44	.333	28.0	66
13	Cleveland Cavaliers	21	45	.318	29.0	66
14	Washington Wizards	20	46	.303	30.0	66
15	Charlotte Bobcats	7	59	.106	43.0	66

Game log

2011–12 game log Total: 25–41 (Home: 18–15; Road: 7–26)
December: 1–3 (home: 1–1; road: 0–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 December 26 @ Indiana L 79–91 Rodney Stuckey (17) Three players (7) Rodney Stuckey (6) Bankers Life Fieldhouse 18,165 0–1 2 December 28 Cleveland L 89–105 Ben Gordon (25) Greg Monroe (7) Brandon Knight (6) The Palace of Auburn Hills 22,076 0–2 3 December 30 @ Boston L 85–96 Greg Monroe (22) Greg Monroe (9) Rodney Stuckey (7) TD Garden 18,624 0–3 4 December 31 Indiana W 96–88 Jonas Jerebko (20) Jonas Jerebko (12) Brandon Knight (6) The Palace of Auburn Hills 8,824 1–3
January : 3–16 (home: 2–7; road: 1–9) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 5 January 2 Orlando W 89–78 Ben Gordon (26) Jonas Jerebko (11) Ben Gordon (6) The Palace of Auburn Hills 8,120 2–3 6 January 4 Chicago L 83–99 Greg Monroe (19) Greg Monroe (13) Greg Monroe (5) The Palace of Auburn Hills 9,125 2–4 7 January 6 @ Philadelphia L 73–96 Greg Monroe (22) Jonas Jerebko Brandon Knight (9) Brandon Knight (4) Wells Fargo Center 19,408 2–5 8 January 7 New York L 80–103 Brandon Knight (19) Three players (6) Brandon Knight (6) The Palace of Auburn Hills 12,044 2–6 9 January 9 @ Chicago L 68–92 Greg Monroe (14) Greg Monroe (10) Greg Monroe (6) United Center 21,530 2–7 10 January 10 Dallas L 86–100 Will Bynum (20) Greg Monroe (7) Austin Daye (4) The Palace of Auburn Hills 10,073 2–8 11 January 12 @ Milwaukee L 93–102 Greg Monroe (32) Greg Monroe (16) Three players (4) Bradley Center 11,465 2–9 12 January 13 @ Charlotte W 98–81 Jonas Jerebko (22) Brandon Knight (10) Two players (5) Time Warner Cable Arena 18,043 3–9 13 January 15 Golden State L 91–99 Greg Monroe (25) Greg Monroe (8) Two players (6) The Palace of Auburn Hills 11,774 3–10 14 January 17 @ Houston L 80–97 Tayshaun Prince (20) Greg Monroe (11) Greg Monroe (6) Toyota Center 9,318 3–11 15 January 18 @ Minnesota L 85–93 Tayshaun Prince (29) Greg Monroe (12) Brandon Knight (6) Target Center 15,598 3–12 16 January 20 Memphis L 81–98 Brandon Knight (22) Greg Monroe (13) Greg Monroe (4) The Palace of Auburn Hills 10,255 3–13 17 January 21 Portland W 94–91 Rodney Stuckey (28) Greg Monroe (8) Rodney Stuckey (5) The Palace of Auburn Hills 14,456 4–13 18 January 23 @ Oklahoma City L 79–99 Brandon Knight (13) Two players (7) Two players (3) Chesapeake Energy Arena 18,023 4–14 19 January 25 Miami L 98–101 Austin Daye (28) Greg Monroe (10) Rodney Stuckey (6) The Palace of Auburn Hills 18,058 4–15 20 January 27 Atlanta L 101–107 Greg Monroe (22) Greg Monroe (11) Brandon Knight (8) The Palace of Auburn Hills 14,010 4–16 21 January 28 @ Philadelphia L 74–95 Greg Monroe (16) Greg Monroe (10) Walker Russel (5) Wells Fargo Center 18,710 4–17 22 January 30 @ Milwaukee L 82–103 Rodney Stuckey (19) Greg Monroe (10) Two players (6) Bradley Center 13,103 4–18 23 January 31 @ New York L 86–113 Jonas Jerebko (15) Greg Monroe (12) Two players (3) Madison Square Garden 19,763 4–19
February : 8–6 (home: 6–3; road: 2–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 24 February 1 @ New Jersey L 96–98 Two players (21) Greg Monroe (8) Three players (4) Prudential Center 10,504 4–20 25 February 3 Milwaukee W 88–80 Brandon Knight (26) Jason Maxiell (12) Brandon Knight (7) The Palace of Auburn Hills 13,181 5–20 26 February 4 New Orleans W 89–87 Greg Monroe (24) Greg Monroe (16) Tayshaun Prince (5) The Palace of Auburn Hills 13,174 6–20 27 February 8 @ New Jersey W 99–92 Greg Monroe (20) Greg Monroe (12) Rodney Stuckey (6) Prudential Center 10,145 7–20 28 February 10 New Jersey W 109–92 Jonas Jerebko (20) Greg Monroe (11) Three players (5) The Palace of Auburn Hills 14,320 8–20 29 February 12 Washington L 77–98 Greg Monroe (27) Ben Wallace (7) Walker Russell (4) The Palace of Auburn Hills 12,654 8–21 30 February 14 San Antonio L 95–99 Rodney Stuckey (23) Jason Maxiell (9) Rodney Stuckey (8) The Palace of Auburn Hills 11,533 8–22 31 February 15 @ Boston W 98–88 Rodney Stuckey (25) Ben Wallace (11) Rodney Stuckey (4) TD Garden 18,624 9–22 32 February 17 Sacramento W 114–108 Rodney Stuckey (36) Tayshaun Prince (10) Brandon Knight (10) The Palace of Auburn Hills 14,686 10–22 33 February 19 Boston W 96–81 Greg Monroe (17) Two players (10) Three players (3) The Palace of Auburn Hills 22,076 11–22 34 February 21 @ Cleveland L 100–101 Brandon Knight (24) Greg Monroe (11) Greg Monroe (7) Quicken Loans Arena 13,459 11–23 35 February 22 @ Toronto L 93–103 Greg Monroe (30) Greg Monroe (14) Walker Russell (4) Air Canada Centre 17,125 11–24 36 February 28 Philadelphia L 68–97 Greg Monroe (20) Two players (8) Greg Monroe (3) The Palace of Auburn Hills 11,916 11–25 37 February 29 Charlotte W 109–94 Rodney Stuckey (29) Greg Monroe (20) Brandon Knight (5) The Palace of Auburn Hills 14,534 12–25
March : 7–8 (home: 4–1; road: 3–7) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 38 March 3 @ Memphis L 83–100 Rodney Stuckey (20) Greg Monroe (11) Two players (4) FedEx Forum 17,659 12–26 39 March 6 L. A. Lakers W 88–85 Rodney Stuckey (34) Greg Monroe (15) Ben Gordon(5) The Palace of Auburn Hills 22,076 13–26 40 March 9 Atlanta W 86–85 Greg Monroe (20) Jason Maxiell (12) Rodney Stuckey (7) The Palace of Auburn Hills 15,503 14–26 41 March 10 Toronto W 105–86 Rodney Stuckey (20) Ben Wallace (8) Rodney Stuckey (8) The Palace of Auburn Hills 16,090 15–26 42 March 12 @ Utah L 90–105 Rodney Stuckey (29) Two players (5) Rodney Stuckey (7) EnergySolutions Arena 19,393 15–27 43 March 14 @ Sacramento W 124–112 Rodney Stuckey (35) Greg Monroe (11) Brandon Knight (11) Power Balance Pavilion 12,173 16–27 44 March 16 @ Phoenix L 101–109 Rodney Stuckey (23) Greg Monroe (9) Rodney Stuckey (8) US Airways Center 17,148 16–28 45 March 18 @ L. A. Clippers L 83–87 Greg Monroe (23) Greg Monroe (15) Two players (5) Staples Center 19,060 16–29 46 March 21 @ Denver L 115–116 Ben Gordon (45) Greg Monroe (11) Ben Gordon (8) Pepsi Center 16,681 16–30 47 March 23 Miami L 73–88 Brandon Knight (18) Jason Maxiell (7) Will Bynum (6) The Palace of Auburn Hills 22,076 16–31 48 March 24 @ New York L 79–101 Ben Gordon (20) Ben Wallace (7) Walker Russell (4) Madison Square Garden 19,763 16–32 49 March 26 @ Washington W 79–77 Rodney Stuckey (24) Jonas Jerebko (12) Brandon Knight (7) Verizon Center 15,911 17–32 50 March 28 @ Cleveland W 87–75 Tayshaun Prince (29) Greg Monroe (10) Brandon Knight (5) Quicken Loans Arena 14,486 18–32 51 March 30 @ Chicago L 71–83 Brandon Knight (16) Greg Monroe (10) Tayshaun Prince (6) United Center 22,385 18–33 52 March 31 Charlotte W 110–107 Tayshaun Prince (24) Two players (9) Brandon Knight (6) The Palace of Auburn Hills 17,082 19–33
April : 6–8 (home: 5–3; road: 1–5) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 53 April 3 Orlando W 102–95 Greg Monroe (22) Greg Monroe (11) Ben Gordon (7) The Palace of Auburn Hills 16,741 20–33 54 April 5 Washington W 99–94 Greg Monroe (18) Jason Maxiell (11) Three players (3) The Palace of Auburn Hills 12,681 21–33 55 April 6 @ Atlanta L 96–101 Rodney Stuckey (27) Greg Monroe (8) Greg Monroe (4) Philips Arena 15,143 21–34 56 April 8 @ Miami L 75–98 Brandon Knight (16) Two players (7) Ben Gordon (2) American Airlines Arena 20,017 21–35 57 April 9 @ Orlando L 89–119 Tayshaun Prince (21) Tayshaun Prince (8) Will Bynum (5) Amway Center 18,998 21–36 58 April 12 @ Charlotte W 109–85 Greg Monroe (25) Greg Monroe (11) Two players (7) Time Warner Cable Arena 10,828 22–36 59 April 13 Milwaukee L 97–113 Brandon Knight (25) Greg Monroe (10) Brandon Knight (8) The Palace of Auburn Hills 15,255 22–37 60 April 15 Chicago L 94–100 Rodney Stuckey (32) Jason Maxiell (9) Brandon Knight (7) The Palace of Auburn Hills 17,450 22–38 61 April 17 Cleveland W 116–77 Brandon Knight (28) Greg Monroe (13) Brandon Knight (7) The Palace of Auburn Hills 11,595 23–38 62 April 18 @ Atlanta L 84–116 Greg Monroe (17) Vernon Macklin (9) Two players (3) Philips Arena 14,392 23–39 63 April 19 Minnesota L 80–91 Tayshaun Prince (18) Charlie Villanueva (12) Three players (3) The Palace of Auburn Hills 12,458 23–40 64 April 22 Toronto W 76–73 Two players (19) Greg Monroe (17) Rodney Stuckey (6) The Palace of Auburn Hills 14,370 24–40 65 April 23 @Indiana L 97–103 Greg Monroe (18) Greg Monroe (12) Will Bynum (5) Bankers Life Fieldhouse 13,584 24–41 66 April 26 Philadelphia W 108–86 Ben Gordon (26) Ben Wallace (12) Brandon Knight (7) The Palace of Auburn Hills 15,372 25–41
2011–12 season schedule

Player statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Greg Monroe	66	66	31.5	.521	.000	.739	9.7	2.3	1.3	.7	15.4
Rodney Stuckey	55	48	29.9	.429	.317	.834	2.6	3.8	.8	.2	14.8
Brandon Knight	66	60	32.3	.415	.380	.759	3.2	3.8	.7	.2	12.8
Tayshaun Prince	63	63	33.1	.421	.356	.774	4.5	2.4	.4	.5	12.7
Ben Gordon	52	21	26.9	.442	.429	.860	2.3	2.4	.7	.2	12.5
Jonas Jerebko	64	13	22.9	.468	.302	.806	4.8	.7	.6	.3	8.7
Charlie Villanueva	13	0	13.8	.385	.333	.857	3.7	.5	.5	.4	7.0
Jason Maxiell	65	42	22.6	.478	.000	.547	5.1	.6	.5	.8	6.5
Will Bynum	36	0	14.3	.381	.241	.766	1.6	1.8	.6	.1	5.7
Austin Daye	41	4	14.7	.322	.210	.814	2.2	.8	.5	.5	4.7
Damien Wilkins	60	2	15.4	.394	.304	.630	1.7	.7	.5	.2	3.2
Walker Russell, Jr.	28	0	12.8	.347	.308	.636	.9	2.1	.6	.0	3.0
Vernon Macklin	23	0	5.9	.543		.571	1.5	.2	.2	.2	2.0
Ben Wallace	62	11	15.8	.395	.250	.340	4.3	.7	.8	.8	1.4

Disciplinary actions

• Charlie Villanueva missed the first four games of the regular season following a suspension after a scuffle during a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers with Cavs center Ryan Hollins.^[2]

Awards

• Brandon Knight was selected for the NBA All-Rookie First Team.^[3]

Transactions

Main article: List of 2011–12 NBA season transactions

Overview

Players Added Via draft Brandon Knight Vernon Macklin Via free agency Damien Wilkins Walker Russell, Jr.

Players Lost Via free agency Tracy McGrady DaJuan Summers Chris Wilcox Waived Richard Hamilton Terrico White

Free agents

Additions
Player	Date signed	Former team
Jonas Jerebko	December 9	Re-signed
Tayshaun Prince	December 9	Re-signed
Damien Wilkins	December 9	Atlanta Hawks
Rodney Stuckey	December 17	Re-signed
Walker Russell, Jr.	January 20	Fort Wayne Mad Ants (from D-League)

Subtractions
Player	Date signed	New team
Tracy McGrady	December 9	Atlanta Hawks
Chris Wilcox	December 9	Boston Celtics
DaJuan Summers	December 9	New Orleans Hornets
Terrico White	December 9	New Orleans Hornets

Many players signed with teams from other leagues due to the 2011 NBA lockout. FIBA allows players under NBA contracts to sign and play for teams from other leagues if the contracts have opt-out clauses that allow the players to return to the NBA if the lockout ends.^[4] The Chinese Basketball Association, however, only allows its clubs to sign foreign free agents who could play for at least the entire season.^[5]

Played in other leagues during lockout
Player	Date signed	New team	Opt-out clause
DaJuan Summers	July 3	Montepaschi Siena (Italy)	No
Austin Daye	September 23	BC Khimki (Russia)	Yes

See also

2011–12 NBA season