# 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.
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. 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. 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.

## Key dates

* June 23: The 2011 NBA draft took place at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
* November 1: Chicago Bulls first game of the season, against the Dallas Mavericks was scheduled, but was cancelled due to the lockout.
* December 25: Chicago Bulls first game of the season, against the Los Angeles Lakers. 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.
* April 12: The Bulls clinch the Central Division title with a 96–86 win against the Miami Heat.

## Summary
### 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 |

## Pre-season

2011 pre-season game log :
Pre-season: 2–0 (home: 1–0; road: 1–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
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 Divisionvte | 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)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
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)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
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)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
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)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
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)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
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
### 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 | 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.

## Playoffs
### Game log

2012 playoff game log :
First round: 2–4 (home: 2–1; road: 0–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
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)
* Coach Tom Thibodeau was named Coach of the Month for December–January.
* Coach Tom Thibodeau was named Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for March, 2012.

#### All-Star

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

## 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 BullsDraft rights to Nikola Mirotić | To Minnesota TimberwolvesDraft 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. The Chinese Basketball Association, however, only allows its clubs to sign foreign free agents who could play for at least the entire season.
Played in other leagues during lockout :
| Player | Date signed | New team | Opt-out clause |
| Brian Scalabrine | September 22 | Benetton Treviso (Italy) | No |