2011–12 Chicago Bulls season

The 2011–12 Chicago Bulls season was the 46th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Bulls finished the lockout-shortened season with a 50–16 record, or roughly 62–20 in a full season, tying the San Antonio Spurs for the best record of the season. They ended as the number one seed in the Eastern Conference for a second consecutive season.

2011–12 Chicago Bulls season
Division champions
Head coach	Tom Thibodeau
General manager	Gar Forman
Owners	Jerry Reinsdorf
Arena	United Center
Results
Record	50–16 (.758)
Place	Division: 1st (Central) Conference: 1st (Eastern)
Playoff finish	First round (lost to 76ers 2–4)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	CSN Chicago (35 games) WGN America (10 games) WGN-TV (14 games) WCIU-TV (6 games)
Radio	WMVP
< 2010–11 2012–13 >

Chicago started their playoff run on April 28, taking Game 1 of the first round against the Philadelphia 76ers at the United Center. However, that victory was marred with the season-ending injury of point guard and reigning MVP Derrick Rose, who tore his anterior cruciate ligament in the final minutes of the game.^[1] Chicago then lost three games in a row and were also without the services of starting center Joakim Noah for Games 4 and 5 of the series following an injury in his left ankle during Game 3 in Philadelphia.^[2] The Bulls won one more game at home before losing the series 2–4 in Philadelphia and became the fifth number one seed in league history to lose a playoffs series against a number eight seed, following the Seattle SuperSonics in 1994, the Miami Heat in 1999, the Dallas Mavericks in 2007, the San Antonio Spurs in 2011, and followed by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2023.^[3]

Key dates

• June 23: The 2011 NBA draft took place at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.^[4]
• November 1: Chicago Bulls first game of the season, against the Dallas Mavericks was scheduled, but was cancelled due to the lockout.^[5]
• December 25: Chicago Bulls first game of the season, against the Los Angeles Lakers.^[6] The Bulls won 88–87, in Los Angeles.
• March 24: Chicago secured a spot in the 2012 NBA Playoffs with a 102–101 victory against the Toronto Raptors.^[7]
• April 12: The Bulls clinch the Central Division title with a 96–86 win against the Miami Heat.^[8]

Summary

NBA draft

Main article: 2011 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	23	Nikola Mirotić	F	Spain	Real Madrid (Spain)
1	30	Jimmy Butler	G/F	United States	Marquette

Roster

2011–12 Chicago Bulls roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From C 3 Ömer Aşık 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1986-07-04 Turkey F 5 Carlos Boozer 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 266 lb (121 kg) 1981-11-20 Duke G 11 Ronnie Brewer 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 227 lb (103 kg) 1985-03-20 Arkansas G 21 Jimmy Butler 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1989-09-14 Marquette F 9 Luol Deng 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1985-04-16 Duke F 22 Taj Gibson 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1985-06-24 USC G 32 Richard Hamilton 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 193 lb (88 kg) 1978-02-14 Connecticut G 8 Mike James 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 188 lb (85 kg) 1975-06-23 Duquesne F 26 Kyle Korver 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 212 lb (96 kg) 1981-03-17 Creighton G 15 John III Lucas 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1982-11-21 Oklahoma State C 13 Joakim Noah 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 232 lb (105 kg) 1985-02-25 Florida G 1 Derrick Rose 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1988-10-04 Memphis F 24 Brian Scalabrine 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1978-03-18 USC G 7 C. J. Watson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1984-04-17 Tennessee

Head coach Tom Thibodeau Assistant(s) Ron Adams Rick Brunson Andy Greer Adrian Griffin Ed Pinckney Mike Wilhelm Fred Tedeschi (trainer) Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Updated: April 5, 2012

Pre-season

2011 pre-season game log
Pre-season: 2–0 (home: 1–0; road: 1–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 December 16 @ Indiana 95–86 Derrick Rose, Luol Deng (16) Taj Gibson (9) Derrick Rose (4) Conseco Fieldhouse 14,013 1–0 2 December 20 Indiana 93–85 Carlos Boozer (24) Joakim Noah (8) Derrick Rose (9) United Center 21,659 2–0
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: 50–16 (home: 26–7; road: 24–9)
December: 3–1 (home: 0–0; road: 3–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 December 25 @ L. A. Lakers W 88–87 Derrick Rose (22) Joakim Noah (9) Derrick Rose (5) Staples Center 18,997 1–0 2 December 26 @ Golden State L 91–99 Luol Deng (22) Luol Deng Joakim Noah (10) Derrick Rose (8) Oracle Arena 19,596 1–1 3 December 29 @ Sacramento W 108–98 Derrick Rose (19) Carlos Boozer (15) C. J. Watson (9) Power Balance Pavilion 17,317 2–1 4 December 30 @ L. A. Clippers W 114–101 Derrick Rose (29) Derrick Rose (8) Derrick Rose (16) Staples Center 19,426 3–1
January: 15–4 (home: 9–1; road: 6–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 5 January 1 Memphis W 104–64 Carlos Boozer Ronnie Brewer (17) Carlos Boozer (11) Derrick Rose (6) United Center 22,763 4–1 6 January 3 Atlanta W 76–74 Derrick Rose (30) Carlos Boozer (9) Derrick Rose (7) United Center 22,166 5–1 7 January 4 @ Detroit W 99–83 Carlos Boozer (19) Joakim Noah (11) Derrick Rose (10) The Palace of Auburn Hills 9,125 6–1 8 January 6 @ Orlando W 97–83 Derrick Rose Luol Deng (21) Carlos Boozer (13) Derrick Rose (10) Amway Center 18,192 7–1 9 January 7 @ Atlanta L 94–109 John Lucas (16) Ömer Aşık (13) Derrick Rose (6) Philips Arena 17,112 7–2 10 January 9 Detroit W 92–68 Carlos Boozer (23) Carlos Boozer Joakim Noah (8) Derrick Rose (8) United Center 21,530 8–2 11 January 10 @ Minnesota W 111–100 Derrick Rose (31) Luol Deng Joakim Noah (11) Derrick Rose (11) Target Center 19,356 9–2 12 January 11 Washington W 78–64 John Lucas (25) Luol Deng (15) John Lucas (8) United Center 21,366 10–2 13 January 13 @ Boston W 88–79 Derrick Rose (25) Luol Deng (16) Derrick Rose (7) TD Garden 18,624 11–2 14 January 14 Toronto W 77–64 Derrick Rose (18) Carlos Boozer (13) Derrick Rose (11) United Center 21,962 12–2 15 January 16 @ Memphis L 86–102 Luol Deng (20) Carlos Boozer (7) C. J. Watson Luol Deng (3) FedExForum 18,119 12–3 16 January 17 Phoenix W 118–97 Carlos Boozer (31) Joakim Noah (12) Richard Hamilton Kyle Korver (6) United Center 21,347 13–3 17 January 20 @ Cleveland W 114–75 Luol Deng (21) Carlos Boozer (14) C. J. Watson (7) Quicken Loans Arena 17,871 14–3 18 January 21 Charlotte W 95–89 Carlos Boozer (23) Ömer Aşık (15) Mike James (10) United Center 21,861 15–3 19 January 23 New Jersey W 110–95 Richard Hamilton (22) Joakim Noah (10) Richard Hamilton (10) United Center 21,572 16–3 20 January 25 Indiana L 90–95 Derrick Rose (24) Joakim Noah (13) Ronnie Brewer (5) United Center 21,755 16–4 21 January 27 Milwaukee W 107–100 Derrick Rose (34) Joakim Noah (16) Ronnie Brewer (6) United Center 22,368 17–4 22 January 29 @ Miami L 93–97 Derrick Rose (34) Joakim Noah (11) Derrick Rose (11) American Airlines Arena 20,054 17–5 23 January 30 @ Washington W 98–88 Derrick Rose (35) Joakim Noah (13) Derrick Rose (8) Verizon Center 18,357 18–5
February: 11–3 (home: 5–1; road: 6–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 24 February 1 @ Philadelphia L 82–98 C. J. Watson (20) Carlos Boozer (9) Derrick Rose (6) Wells Fargo Center 18,325 18–6 25 February 2 @ New York W 105–102 Derrick Rose (32) Carlos Boozer Joakim Noah (9) Derrick Rose (13) Madison Square Garden 19,763 19–6 26 February 4 @ Milwaukee W 113–90 Derrick Rose (26) Luol Deng Joakim Noah (9) Derrick Rose (13) Bradley Center 18,717 20–6 27 February 6 @ New Jersey W 108–87 Carlos Boozer (24) Joakim Noah (12) C. J. Watson (11) Prudential Center 15,327 21–6 28 February 8 @ New Orleans W 90–67 Carlos Boozer (18) Joakim Noah (10) Derrick Rose (6) New Orleans Arena 15,456 22–6 29 February 10 @ Charlotte W 95–64 Joakim Noah (17) Joakim Noah (14) C. J. Watson (5) Time Warner Cable Arena 19,379 23–6 30 February 12 @ Boston L 91–95 Carlos Boozer C. J. Watson (22) Joakim Noah (9) Ronnie Brewer C. J. Watson (6) TD Garden 18,624 23–7 31 February 14 Sacramento W 121–115 Luol Deng (23) Joakim Noah (11) Luol Deng (11) United Center 21,936 24–7 32 February 16 Boston W 89–80 Luol Deng Carlos Boozer (23) Joakim Noah (16) Luol Deng (10) United Center 22,592 25–7 33 February 18 New Jersey L 85–97 Carlos Boozer Mike James (16) Carlos Boozer Taj Gibson (9) Mike James (7) United Center 22,300 25–8 34 February 20 Atlanta W 90–79 Derrick Rose (23) Joakim Noah (16) Derrick Rose (6) United Center 22,033 26–8 35 February 22 Milwaukee W 110–91 Carlos Boozer (20) Joakim Noah (13) Joakim Noah (10) United Center 21,507 27–8 All-Star Break 36 February 28 New Orleans W 99–95 Derrick Rose (32) Joakim Noah (16) Derrick Rose (9) United Center 21,919 28–8 37 February 29 @ San Antonio W 96–89 Derrick Rose (29) Joakim Noah (13) Derrick Rose C.J. Watson (4) AT&T Center 18,581 29–8
March: 13–3 (home: 7–3; road: 6–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 38 March 2 @ Cleveland W 112–91 Luol Deng (24) Carlos Boozer (11) Derrick Rose (9) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 30–8 39 March 4 @ Philadelphia W 96–91 Derrick Rose (35) Joakim Noah (18) Derrick Rose (8) Wells Fargo Center 19,683 31–8 40 March 5 Indiana W 92–72 Luol Deng (20) Joakim Noah (17) Derrick Rose (9) United Center 22,106 32–8 41 March 7 @ Milwaukee W 106–104 Derrick Rose (30) Joakim Noah (10) Derrick Rose (11) Bradley Center 15,389 33–8 42 March 8 Orlando L 94–99 Carlos Boozer (26) Joakim Noah (10) Derrick Rose (9) United Center 22,127 33–9 43 March 10 Utah W 111–97 Carlos Boozer (27) Carlos Boozer (8) Derrick Rose (13) United Center 22,158 34–9 44 March 12 New York W 104–99 Derrick Rose (32) Taj Gibson (13) Derrick Rose Ronnie Brewer (7) United Center 22,863 35–9 45 March 14 Miami W 106–102 John Lucas III (24) Carlos Boozer Taj Gibson (8) Carlos Boozer (5) United Center 23,028 36–9 46 March 16 Portland L 89–100 Carlos Boozer (22) Carlos Boozer (14) Joakim Noah (5) United Center 22,022 36–10 47 March 17 Philadelphia W 89–80 C.J. Watson (20) Joakim Noah (11) Joakim Noah Taj Gibson (4) United Center 22,225 37–10 48 March 19 @ Orlando W 85–59 Carlos Boozer (24) Carlos Boozer (13) Joakim Noah (5) Amway Center 18,998 38–10 49 March 21 @ Toronto W 94–82 Luol Deng (17) Luol Deng (10) Joakim Noah (5) Air Canada Centre 17,869 39–10 50 March 24 Toronto W 102–101 (OT) Carlos Boozer (24) Carlos Boozer Luol Deng (10) John Lucas III (6) United Center 21,841 40–10 51 March 26 Denver L 91–108 C.J. Watson (17) Carlos Boozer Taj Gibson (7) C.J. Watson (8) United Center 22,274 40–11 52 March 28 @ Atlanta W 98–77 Luol Deng (22) Carlos Boozer (9) John Lucas III (5) Philips Arena 16,290 41–11 53 March 30 Detroit W 83–71 Luol Deng (20) Joakim Noah (12) C.J. Watson (5) United Center 22,385 42–11
April: 8–5 (home: 5–2; road: 3–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 54 April 1 @ Oklahoma City L 78–92 John Lucas III (19) Taj Gibson (11) Kyle Korver John Lucas III (4) Chesapeake Energy Arena 18,203 42–12 55 April 2 Houston L 93–99 Luol Deng (24) Carlos Boozer (13) Carlos Boozer (7) United Center 21,936 42–13 56 April 5 Boston W 93–86 Luol Deng (26) Carlos Boozer (14) C.J. Watson (8) United Center 22,423 43–13 57 April 8 @ New York L 99–100 (OT) Derrick Rose (29) Carlos Boozer (16) Derrick Rose (4) Madison Square Garden 19,763 43–14 58 April 10 New York W 98–86 Richard Hamilton (20) Luol Deng (10) C.J. Watson (7) United Center 22,131 44–14 59 April 12 Miami W 96–86 (OT) Carlos Boozer (19) Carlos Boozer (11) C.J. Watson (9) United Center 23,015 45–14 60 April 15 @ Detroit W 100–94 (OT) Derrick Rose (24) Joakim Noah (17) Derrick Rose (9) The Palace of Auburn Hills 17,450 46–14 61 April 16 Washington L 84–87 Richard Hamilton (22) Carlos Boozer (13) C.J. Watson (8) United Center 22,307 46–15 62 April 18 @ Charlotte W 100–68 Richard Hamilton (22) Ömer Aşık (15) Richard Hamilton (6) Time Warner Cable Arena 14,221 47–15 63 April 19 @ Miami L 72–83 John Lucas III (16) Joakim Noah (10) C.J. Watson John Lucas III (4) American Airlines Arena 20,008 47–16 64 April 21 Dallas W 93–83 Luol Deng (22) Joakim Noah (14) Derrick Rose Joakim Noah (8) United Center 22,945 48–16 65 April 25 @ Indiana W 92–87 Kyle Korver (20) Joakim Noah (14) Derrick Rose (7) Bankers Life Fieldhouse 18,165 49–16 66 April 26 Cleveland W 107–75 John Lucas III (25) Joakim Noah Taj Gibson (12) C.J. Watson (8) United Center 22,563 50–16
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
Ömer Aşık	66	2	14.7	.506	.000	.456	5.3	0.5	0.45	1.03	3.1
Carlos Boozer	66	66	29.5	.532	.000	.693	8.5	1.9	0.95	0.36	15.0
Ronnie Brewer	66	43	24.8	.427	.275	.560	3.5	2.1	1.09	0.32	6.9
Jimmy Butler	42	0	8.5	.405	.185	.768	1.3	0.3	0.26	0.12	2.6
Luol Deng	54	54	39.4	.412	.367	.770	6.5	2.9	1.04	0.67	15.3
Taj Gibson	63	0	20.4	.495	.000	.622	5.3	0.7	0.43	1.29	7.7
Richard Hamilton	28	28	24.9	.452	.370	.784	2.4	3.0	0.43	0.04	11.6
Mike James[a]	11	0	10.9	.408	.600	.875	0.9	2.6	0.36	0.18	4.8
Kyle Korver	65	7	22.6	.432	.435	.833	2.4	1.7	0.55	0.23	8.1
John Lucas	49	2	14.8	.399	.393	.867	1.6	2.2	0.39	0.02	7.5
Joakim Noah	64	64	30.4	.508	.000	.748	9.8	2.5	0.64	1.44	10.2
Derrick Rose	39	39	35.3	.435	.312	.812	3.4	7.9	0.90	0.72	21.8
Brian Scalabrine	28	0	4.4	.467	.143	.500	0.8	0.5	0.18	0.21	1.1
C. J. Watson	49	25	23.7	.368	.393	.808	2.1	4.1	0.92	0.16	9.7

• ^a Statistics with the Chicago Bulls.^[9]

Playoffs

Game log

2012 playoff game log
First round: 2–4 (home: 2–1; road: 0–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 28 Philadelphia W 103–91 Derrick Rose (23) Joakim Noah (13) Derrick Rose (9) United Center 21,943 1–0 2 May 1 Philadelphia L 92–109 Joakim Noah (21) Joakim Noah (8) Richard Hamilton Joakim Noah (5) United Center 22,067 1–1 3 May 4 @ Philadelphia L 74–79 Carlos Boozer (18) Carlos Boozer (10) Richard Hamilton (7) Wells Fargo Center 20,381 1–2 4 May 6 @ Philadelphia L 82–89 Carlos Boozer (23) Taj Gibson (12) C.J. Watson Carlos Boozer (4) Wells Fargo Center 20,412 1–3 5 May 8 Philadelphia W 77–69 Luol Deng (24) Carlos Boozer (13) C.J. Watson (7) United Center 22,093 2–3 6 May 10 @ Philadelphia L 78–79 Luol Deng, Richard Hamilton (19) Luol Deng (17) C. J. Watson (10) Wells Fargo Center 20,362 2–4
2012 playoff schedule

Playoff statistics

Chicago Bulls statistics

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Ömer Aşık	6	3	21.3	.500		.353	4.7	1.3	.2	1.6	3.3
Carlos Boozer	6	6	33.3	.422		.714	9.8	3.0	.8	.3	13.5
Ronnie Brewer	5	0	16.6	.250		.000	3.8	1.8	.8	.2	1.6
Jimmy Butler	3	0	1.3				.0	.0	.0	.0	.0
Luol Deng	6	6	38.0	.456	.364	.571	8.3	1.5	.8	1.5	14.0
Taj Gibson	6	0	22.8	.457		.682	6.5	.7	.7	1.7	9.5
Richard Hamilton	6	6	28.5	.414	.333	.818	3.2	3.0	.2	.0	13.0
Kyle Korver	6	0	15.7	.409	.308	.500	1.7	1.5	.5	.5	3.8
John Lucas	5	0	18.8	.450	.385	1.000	1.4	1.8	.0	.0	8.6
Joakim Noah	3	3	15.0	.731		.636	9.3	3.0	.7	1.3	15.0
Derrick Rose	1	1	37.0	.391	.500	1.000	9.0	9.0	1.0	1.0	23.0
C. J. Watson	6	5	27.3	.241	.250	.750	2.2	5.5	.8	.0	7.3

Awards, records and milestones

Awards

Week/Month

• On January 16, Derrick Rose was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week (January 9 – January 15)^[10]
• Coach Tom Thibodeau was named Coach of the Month for December–January.^[11]
• Coach Tom Thibodeau was named Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for March, 2012.^[12]

All-Star

• Derrick Rose was voted as an All-Star for the 3rd consecutive time, 2nd consecutive time as a starter.^[13]
• Luol Deng was voted as an All-Star reserve for the 1st time.^[14]
• Coach Tom Thibodeau was selected as Head Coach of the Eastern Conference All-Stars.^[15]

Transactions

Main article: List of 2011–12 NBA season transactions

Overview

Players Added Via draft Jimmy Butler Via free agency Richard Hamilton Mike James

Players Lost Via free agency Rasual Butler Kurt Thomas Waived Keith Bogans Jannero Pargo

Trades

June 23, 2011

To Chicago Bulls Draft rights to Nikola Mirotić

To Minnesota Timberwolves Draft rights to Norris Cole Draft rights to Malcolm Lee Cash Considerations

Free agents

Additions
Player	Date signed	Former team
Richard Hamilton	December 14	Detroit Pistons
Mike James	April 5	Chicago Bulls

Subtractions
Player	Date signed	New team
Kurt Thomas	December 11	Portland Trail Blazers

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.^[16] The Chinese Basketball Association, however, only allows its clubs to sign foreign free agents who could play for at least the entire season.^[17]

Played in other leagues during lockout
Player	Date signed	New team	Opt-out clause
Brian Scalabrine	September 22	Benetton Treviso (Italy)	No

See also

• 2011–12 NBA season