The 2011–12 NBA season was the 66th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Due to the lockout, the regular season was reduced to 66 games for each team, and began on December 25, 2011, coinciding with Christmas Day. The 2012 NBA All-Star Game was played on February 26, 2012, at Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. The regular season ended on April 26, 2012. The playoffs then began on April 28, and ended on June 21 with the Miami Heat defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2012 NBA Finals.
Transactions
Free agency Free agency started on December 9, 2011.
Coaching changes +Coaching changesOff-season Team 2010–11 coach 2011–12 coach Los Angeles Lakers Phil Jackson Mike Brown Houston Rockets Rick Adelman Kevin McHale Golden State Warriors Keith Smart Mark Jackson Toronto Raptors Jay Triano Dwane Casey Detroit Pistons John Kuester Lawrence Frank Minnesota Timberwolves Kurt Rambis Rick AdelmanIn-season Team Outgoing coach Incoming coach Sacramento Kings Paul Westphal Keith Smart Washington Wizards Flip Saunders Randy Wittman New York Knicks Mike D'Antoni Mike Woodson Portland Trail Blazers Nate McMillan Kaleb Canales
Off-season On May 31, the Los Angeles Lakers hired Mike Brown as head coach, replacing Phil Jackson who retired at the end of the previous season. On June 1, the Houston Rockets hired Kevin McHale as head coach, replacing Rick Adelman whose contract expired at the end of the previous season. On June 6, the Golden State Warriors hired Mark Jackson as head coach, replacing Keith Smart who was fired on April 27. On June 21, the Toronto Raptors hired Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Dwane Casey as head coach, replacing Jay Triano, whose contract as head coach expired at the end of the previous season. Triano was retained as a special assistant to the president and general manager. On August 3, the Detroit Pistons hired Boston Celtics assistant coach Lawrence Frank as head coach, replacing John Kuester who was fired on June 5. On September 28, the Minnesota Timberwolves hired Rick Adelman as head coach, replacing Kurt Rambis who was fired on July 12.
In-season On January 5, the Sacramento Kings fired Paul Westphal and promoted assistant coach Keith Smart to head coach. On January 24, the Washington Wizards fired Flip Saunders and promoted assistant coach Randy Wittman to head coach. On March 14, the New York Knicks announced the resignation of Mike D'Antoni and promoted assistant Mike Woodson to head coach on an interim basis for the rest of the season. On March 15, the Portland Trail Blazers fired Nate McMillan and promoted assistant Kaleb Canales as interim head coach.
2011 NBA lockout
The lockout was the fourth work stoppage in the history of the NBA. It began at UTC (12:01 am EDT) on July 1, 2011. The main issues dividing the owners and the players were revenue sharing and the structure of the salary cap. During the lockout, teams could not trade, sign or contact players and players couldn't access NBA team facilities, trainers, or staff members. All preseason games (scheduled to begin October 9) and the first six weeks of the regular season (scheduled to begin November 1, through December 15) were canceled. Some players signed contracts to play in other countries, and most had the option to return to the NBA as soon as the lockout ended. On November 26, 2011, after 15 hours of talks, a tentative deal was reached; once officially ratified, the NBA started a revised 2011–12 season. Owners allowed players to have voluntary workouts at team sites starting December 1. On December 8, 2011, the lockout ended when the owners and players ratified a new CBA agreement.
Preseason Training camp began on December 9. A revised two-game preseason schedule took place.
Regular season A revised 66-game regular season began on December 25, 2011, with five Christmas Day games, two more than the original schedule. The league built a new schedule from scratch based on available arena dates. In October, the league allowed arenas in Los Angeles and Chicago to reassign NBA dates for other events. The number of games between conferences was affected as was the case in the 1999 lockout, when each team played only five or six interconference games in a 50-game schedule. Normally, each team plays teams in the other conference twice each. Teams played 48 conference games and 18 non-conference games in a 66-game schedule, compared to 52 conference games and 30 non-conference games in a normal 82-game season. Teams played on average two more games per month and also were required to play three-consecutive games at least once in the season. In total, the league had 42 sets of back-to-back-to-back games throughout the season, with 11 teams playing two such sets. The exception was the then champion Dallas Mavericks, who never had a set of 3 consecutive back to backs. The three-game set, or "triple", also occurred during the shortened 1998–99 season, which featured 64 triples and sloppier play due to tired players. Before that, the last occurrence was two decades earlier. On 29 occasions during the season, teams played a stretch of five games in six days. With fewer off days during the season, the level of play was lower due to fatigue, and some older players rested to avoid burnout and recuperate from injuries. When the San Antonio Spurs rested Tim Duncan for a game in March at the end of a back-to-back-to-back, coach Gregg Popovich submitted the description of Duncan's injury as "Old".
Standings
By division Eastern Conference
Western Conference
By conference
Notes z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs c – Clinched home court advantage for the conference playoffs x – Clinched playoff spot y – Clinched division title
Tiebreakers
Chicago clinched the #1 overall seed over San Antonio based on head-to-head record (1–0).
Western Conference The Los Angeles Lakers clinched #3 seed over Memphis upon winning the Pacific Division. Dallas clinched #7 seed over Utah based on head-to-head record (3–1).
Playoffs
The 2012 NBA playoffs began on April 28, and concluded on June 21, 2012, when the Miami Heat defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Chicago Bulls were eliminated after losing Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah to injuries, and the New York Knicks lost to the Miami Heat while losing Baron Davis and Iman Shumpert to knee injuries. The Heat were not immune, losing Chris Bosh for most of the playoffs en route to their championship. Commissioner David Stern initially said there was no connection between the injuries and the 66-game schedule compressed into 124 days; however, he backed off those comments a week later, saying more research was needed.
This season also marked the final time that Kobe Bryant appeared in the playoffs, as an Achilles injury the following season prevented him from joining the Lakers for the 2013 first round.
Bracket
Statistics leaders
Individual statistic leaders + Category Player Team Statistics Points per game Kevin Durant Oklahoma City Thunder 28.0 Rebounds per game Dwight Howard Orlando Magic 14.5 Assists per game Rajon Rondo Boston Celtics 11.7 Steals per game Chris Paul Los Angeles Clippers 2.53 Blocks per game Serge Ibaka Oklahoma City Thunder 3.65 Turnovers per game Deron Williams New Jersey Nets 4.0 Fouls per game DeMarcus Cousins Sacramento Kings 4.0 Minutes per game Luol Deng Chicago Bulls 39.4 Efficiency per game LeBron James Miami Heat 29.9 FG% Tyson Chandler New York Knicks 67.9% FT% Jamal Crawford Portland Trail Blazers 92.7% 3FG% Steve Novak New York Knicks 47.2% Double-Doubles Kevin Love Minnesota Timberwolves 48 Triple-Doubles Rajon Rondo Boston Celtics 6
Individual game highs Category Player Team Statistics Points Deron Williams New Jersey Nets 57 Rebounds Andrew Bynum Los Angeles Lakers 30 Assists Rajon Rondo Boston Celtics 20 Deron Williams New Jersey Nets Steals Ty Lawson Denver Nuggets 8 Paul Millsap Utah Jazz Chris Paul Los Angeles Clippers Tony Allen Memphis Grizzlies Blocks Serge Ibaka Oklahoma City Thunder 11 Three Pointers Nicolas Batum Portland Trail Blazers 9 Jason Richardson Orlando Magic Ben Gordon Detroit Pistons
Team statistic leaders + Category Team Statistics Points per game Denver Nuggets 108.7 Rebounds per game Chicago Bulls 46.7 Assists per game Denver Nuggets 24.0 Steals per game Memphis Grizzlies 10.3 Blocks per game Oklahoma City Thunder 8.2 Turnovers per game Oklahoma City Thunder 16.4 Fouls per game Toronto Raptors 23.2 FG% San Antonio Spurs 47.8% FT% Oklahoma City Thunder 80.6% 3FG% San Antonio Spurs 39.3% +/- Chicago Bulls 8.2
Notable occurrences On December 8, 2011, the New Orleans Hornets, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Houston Rockets agreed to a trade that would send Chris Paul to Los Angeles. NBA commissioner David Stern nullified the trade, saying the Hornets were better off keeping Paul than accepting the terms of the deal. The league had acquired the Hornets from former owner George Shinn, and the commissioner's office has final authority over all management decisions. Several of the other owners, who co-own the Hornets, also opposed the deal. Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert felt that the Lakers were acquiring the best player in the deal, Paul, and reducing their salary to possibly acquire Dwight Howard. Owners believed the trade would have sent a bad message coming out of the lockout, where one goal was to give small-market teams a chance to keep their players. Paul had long been speculated to be leaving the Hornets as a free agent after the end of the season. Magic Johnson said the trade denial "sends a bad message to fans", and Dwyane Wade called the situation a "mess". The three teams involved in the trade attempted to lobby the league to reverse its ruling as well as reconstruct the deal that would satisfy the league, only to be met by resistance from the league which wanted the Hornets to receive more youth and draft picks. Later, the Lakers pulled out of the trade talk. Five days later, Paul was finally traded to the Los Angeles Clippers. The Toronto Raptors became the first North American sports franchise to apply 3D application to its hardwood floor, which when seen by the players and in-arena spectators appears flat, but when seen by the television audience appears popped up. It made its debut in a pre-season game against the Boston Celtics at Air Canada Centre on December 18. On December 21, when the two teams met at the TD Garden, the Celtics became the first team to apply their Twitter account on their trademark parquet floor. The Raptors also became the first NBA team to unveil camouflaged uniforms, which they wore for the first time on March 21 against the Chicago Bulls as a tribute to the Canadian Forces. Due to a career-ending knee injury, Portland Trail Blazers guard and three-time All-Star Brandon Roy announced his retirement, after only five seasons, on December 9, 2011. Roy's retirement was brief, however, as he joined the Minnesota Timberwolves the next season. A new shot-clock rule was put into place. Upon reaching the five-second mark, tenths of a second are displayed in order to accurately determine last-second shots. The Conseco Fieldhouse, the arena of the Indiana Pacers was renamed to Bankers Life Fieldhouse. On December 26, 2011, they played their first game in the newly named arena against the Detroit Pistons. Likewise the Oklahoma City Thunder's arena was renamed the Chesapeake Energy Arena, after Chesapeake Energy acquired naming rights. Final season of the Nets playing in New Jersey. They spent a total of 36 seasons in New Jersey in four different locations (Teaneck Armory, Piscataway's Rutgers Athletic Center, East Rutherford's Izod Center (Brendan Byrne and Continental Airlines Arena), and Newark's Prudential Center) from 1977 to 2012. They relocated to Brooklyn, a borough of New York City, the next season at the Barclays Center, becoming the first "Big Four" sports franchise in Brooklyn since the Brooklyn Dodgers left in 1957.