2011–12 Los Angeles Clippers season

2011–12 Los Angeles Clippers season
Head coach	Vinny Del Negro
General manager	Neil Olshey
Owner(s)	Donald Sterling
Arena	Staples Center
Results
Record	40–26 (.606)
Place	Division: 2nd (Pacific) Conference: 5th (Western)
Playoff finish	Conference semifinals (lost to Spurs 0–4)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	Prime Ticket Fox Sports West
Radio	KFWB
< 2010–11 2012–13 >

The 2011–12 Los Angeles Clippers season was the 42nd season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA), their 34th season in Southern California, and their 28th season in Los Angeles. Following the 2011 NBA lockout each team only played 66 games instead of the usual 82. The Clippers finished 40–26, their best winning percentage in franchise history at the time.^[1] They finished the season as the #5 seed in the Western Conference, returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2006.

It marked the first season with 3x All-Star and 2008 All-NBA First Team selection Chris Paul, following the completion of a trade in December with the New Orleans Hornets.^[2] Originally thought to be heading to the Lakers, Paul would make the All-NBA Third Team and lead the "Lob City" era of the Clippers for the next six years.^[3][4]

In the playoffs, the Clippers defeated the Memphis Grizzlies in the First Round in seven games, but were swept by the San Antonio Spurs in the Semifinals in four games.

Key dates

• June 23: The 2011 NBA draft took place at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.^[5]

Summary

NBA Draft 2011

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College/Team
2	37	Trey Thompkins	PF	United States	Georgia
2	47	Travis Leslie	G	United States	Georgia

Roster

2011–12 Los Angeles Clippers roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From SG 1 Billups, Chauncey  6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1976-09-25 Colorado PG 12 Bledsoe, Eric 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1989-12-09 Kentucky SF 5 Butler, Caron 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 228 lb (103 kg) 1980-03-13 Connecticut PF 30 Evans, Reggie 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1980-05-18 Iowa SG 4 Foye, Randy 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 213 lb (97 kg) 1983-09-24 Villanova SF 15 Gomes, Ryan 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1982-09-01 Providence PF 32 Griffin, Blake (C) 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 251 lb (114 kg) 1989-03-16 Oklahoma C 6 Jordan, DeAndre 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 265 lb (120 kg) 1988-07-21 Texas A&M SG 23 Leslie, Travis (DL) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1990-03-29 Georgia PF 2 Martin, Kenyon 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 234 lb (106 kg) 1977-12-30 Cincinnati PG 3 Paul, Chris (C) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1985-05-06 Wake Forest SF 21 Simmons, Bobby 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1980-06-02 DePaul C 33 Thompkins, Trey 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1990-05-20 Georgia SG 25 Williams, Mo 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1982-12-19 Alabama SG 11 Young, Nick 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1985-06-01 USC	Head coach Vinny Del Negro Assistant coach(es) Dean Demopoulos Howard Eisley Marc Iavaroni Robert Pack Dave Severns Jasen Powell (trainer) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended (DL) On assignment to D-League affiliate Injured Roster Last transaction: April 23, 2012

Roster notes

• Forward Caron Butler becomes the 17th former Laker to play with the crosstown rival Clippers.
• Forward Bobby Simmons makes his second tour of duty with the Clippers. He played for the team from 2003–2005.
• The first year of the "Lob City" Clippers trio - Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan - who remained together until 2018.

Pre-season

Due to the 2011 NBA lockout negotiations, the programmed pre-season schedule, along with the first two weeks of the regular season were scrapped, and a two-game pre-season was set for each team once the lockout concluded.

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 19 @ L. A. Lakers W 114–95 Chauncey Billups (23) Chris Paul (7) Chris Paul (9) Staples Center 1–0 2 December 21 L. A. Lakers W 108–103 Blake Griffin (30) DeAndre Jordan (7) Chris Paul (10) Staples Center 2–0
2011–12 season schedule

Regular season

Standings

Pacific Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div	GP
y-Los Angeles Lakers	41	25	.621	–	26‍–‍7	15‍–‍18	9–5	66
x-Los Angeles Clippers	40	26	.606	1.0	24‍–‍9	16‍–‍17	7–7	66
Phoenix Suns	33	33	.500	8.0	19‍–‍14	14‍–‍19	9–5	66
Golden State Warriors	23	43	.348	18.0	12‍–‍21	11‍–‍22	7–8	66
Sacramento Kings	22	44	.333	19.0	16‍–‍17	6‍–‍27	3–10	66

Western Conference
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB	GP
1	c-San Antonio Spurs *	50	16	.758	–	66
2	y-Oklahoma City Thunder *	47	19	.712	3.0	66
3	y-Los Angeles Lakers *	41	25	.621	9.0	66
4	x-Memphis Grizzlies	41	25	.621	9.0	66
5	x-Los Angeles Clippers	40	26	.606	10.0	66
6	x-Denver Nuggets	38	28	.576	12.0	66
7	x-Dallas Mavericks	36	30	.545	14.0	66
8	x-Utah Jazz	36	30	.545	14.0	66
9	Houston Rockets	34	32	.515	16.0	66
10	Phoenix Suns	33	33	.500	17.0	66
11	Portland Trail Blazers	28	38	.424	22.0	66
12	Minnesota Timberwolves	26	40	.394	24.0	66
13	Golden State Warriors	23	43	.348	27.0	66
14	Sacramento Kings	22	44	.333	28.0	66
15	New Orleans Hornets	21	45	.318	29.0	66

Game log

2011–12 game log Total: 40–26 (home: 24–9; road: 16–17)
December: 1–2 (home: 0–1; road: 1–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 December 25 @ Golden State W 105–86 Blake Griffin (22) Caron Butler (10) Chris Paul (9) Oracle Arena 19,596 1–0 2 December 28 @ San Antonio L 90–115 Blake Griffin (28) Blake Griffin (9) Chris Paul (9) AT&T Center 18,581 1–1 3 December 30 Chicago L 101–114 Blake Griffin (34) Blake Griffin (13) Chris Paul (14) Staples Center 1–2
January: 11–4 (home: 10–1; road: 1–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 4 January 1 Portland W 93–88 Blake Griffin (20) DeAndre Jordan (11) Chris Paul (7) Staples Center 19,060 2–2 5 January 4 Houston W 117–89 Blake Griffin (22) Blake Griffin (9) Chris Paul (10) Staples Center 19,060 3–2 6 January 7 Milwaukee W 92–86 Blake Griffin (22) Blake Griffin (14) Chris Paul (7) Staples Center 19,229 4–2 7 January 10 @ Portland L 97–105 Caron Butler (20) Blake Griffin (12) Chauncey Billups Mo Williams (4) Rose Garden 20,381 4–3 8 January 11 Miami W 95–89 (OT) Chris Paul (27) Blake Griffin (12) Chris Paul (11) Staples Center 19,341 5–3 9 January 14 L. A. Lakers W 102–94 Chris Paul (33) Blake Griffin (14) Chris Paul (6) Staples Center 19,895 6–3 10 January 16 New Jersey W 101–91 Blake Griffin (23) Blake Griffin (14) Randy Foye (10) Staples Center 19,060 7–3 11 January 17 @ Utah L 79–108 Caron Butler (14) Blake Griffin (11) Chauncey Billups (6) EnergySolutions Arena 19,371 7–4 12 January 18 Dallas W 91–89 Mo Williams (26) Blake Griffin (17) Blake Griffin (7) Staples Center 19,252 8–4 13 January 20 Minnesota L 98–101 Mo Williams (25) DeAndre Jordan (11) Mo Williams (5) Staples Center 19,492 8–5 14 January 22 Toronto W 103–91 Mo Williams (26) DeAndre Jordan (16) Chauncey Billups (14) Staples Center 19,060 9–5 15 January 25 @ L. A. Lakers L 91–96 Blake Griffin (26) Blake Griffin (9) Chris Paul (12) Staples Center 18,997 9–6 16 January 26 Memphis W 98–91 Blake Griffin (20) Blake Griffin DeAndre Jordan (9) Blake Griffin (8) Staples Center 19,275 10–6 17 January 29 @ Denver W 109–105 Chauncey Billups (32) Blake Griffin DeAndre Jordan (13) Chris Paul (7) Pepsi Center 19,495 11–6 18 January 30 Oklahoma City W 112–100 Chris Paul (26) DeAndre Jordan (11) Chris Paul (14) Staples Center 19,404 12–6
February : 8–6 (home: 2–3; road: 6–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 19 February 1 @ Utah W 107–105 Chris Paul (34) Blake Griffin (14) Chris Paul (11) EnergySolutions Arena 19,637 13–6 20 February 2 Denver L 91–112 Blake Griffin (18) DeAndre Jordan (9) Chris Paul (9) Staples Center 19,223 13–7 21 February 4 @ Washington W 107–81 Blake Griffin (21) Blake Griffin DeAndre Jordan (11) Blake Griffin Mo Williams (8) Verizon Center 19,419 14–7 22 February 6 @ Orlando W 107–102 (OT) Chris Paul (29) Blake Griffin (10) Chris Paul (8) Amway Center 18,846 15–7 23 February 8 @ Cleveland L 92–99 Blake Griffin (25) Blake Griffin (15) Chris Paul (12) Quicken Loans Arena 17,100 15–8 24 February 10 @ Philadelphia W 78–77 Chris Paul (24) Blake Griffin (11) Three players (4) Wells Fargo Center 20,539 16–8 25 February 11 @ Charlotte W 111–86 Blake Griffin (21) DeAndre Jordan (12) Chris Paul (14) Time Warner Cable Arena 19,110 17–8 26 February 13 @ Dallas L 92–96 Caron Butler (23) DeAndre Jordan (9) Chris Paul (9) American Airlines Center 20,436 17–9 27 February 15 Washington W 102–84 Blake Griffin (23) Blake Griffin (15) Chris Paul (9) Staples Center 19,135 18–9 28 February 16 @ Portland W 74–71 Blake Griffin (21) Blake Griffin (14) Randy Foye (4) Staples Center 20,665 19–9 29 February 18 San Antonio L 100–103 (OT) Blake Griffin (22) Blake Griffin (20) Chris Paul (6) Staples Center 19,217 19–10 30 February 20 @ Golden State L 97–104 Chris Paul (24) Reggie Evans (12) Chris Paul (6) Oracle Arena 19,596 19–11 31 February 22 Denver W 103–95 Chris Paul (36) DeAndre Jordan (16) Chris Paul (9) Staples Center 19,163 20–11 32 February 28 Minnesota L 97–109 Blake Griffin (30) DeAndre Jordan (14) Chris Paul Mo Williams (6) Staples Center 19,243 20–12
March: 11–9 (home: 8–3; road: 3–6) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 33 March 1 @ Sacramento W 108–100 Chris Paul (22) Blake Griffin (9) Chris Paul (9) Power Balance Pavilion 15,512 21–12 34 March 2 @ Phoenix L 78–81 Blake Griffin (17) Caron Butler Kenyon Martin (8) Chris Paul (5) US Airways Center 18,091 21–13 35 March 4 @ Houston W 105–103 (OT) Chris Paul (28) Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan (11) Chris Paul (10) Toyota Center 16,646 22–13 36 March 5 @ Minnesota L 94–95 Blake Griffin (26) Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan (12) Chris Paul (5) Target Center 19,509 22–14 37 March 7 @ New Jersey L 100–101 Blake Griffin (28) Blake Griffin (17) Chris Paul (10) Prudential Center 18,711 22–15 38 March 9 @ San Antonio W 120–108 Chris Paul (36) Reggie Evans (13) Chris Paul (11) AT&T Center 18,581 23–15 39 March 11 Golden State L 93–97 Blake Griffin (27) Reggie Evans Blake Griffin (12) Chris Paul (5) Staples Center 19,183 23–16 40 March 12 Boston L 85–94 Blake Griffin (24) DeAndre Jordan (13) Chris Paul (5) Staples Center 19,464 23–17 41 March 14 Atlanta W 96–82 Mo Williams (25) Reggie Evans Blake Griffin (210) Chris Paul (9) Staples Center 19,060 24–17 42 March 15 Phoenix L 87–91 Blake Griffin (25) DeAndre Jordan (9) Chris Paul (11) Staples Center 19,060 24–18 43 March 17 Houston W 95–91 Chris Paul (23) DeAndre Jordan (11) Chris Paul (5) Staples Center 19,060 25–18 44 March 18 Detroit W 87–83 (OT) Chris Paul (19) Blake Griffin (11) Chris Paul (15) Staples Center 19,060 26–18 45 March 20 @ Indiana L 89–102 Blake Griffin (23) Blake Griffin DeAndre Jordan (10) Chris Paul (8) Bankers Life Fieldhouse 14,901 26–19 46 March 21 @ Oklahoma City L 91–114 Randy Foye (23) Blake Griffin (7) Chris Paul (10) Chesapeake Energy Arena 18,203 26–20 47 March 22 @ New Orleans L 90–97 Blake Griffin (21) Blake Griffin (11) Chris Paul (9) New Orleans Arena 17,209 26–21 48 March 24 Memphis W 101–85 Blake Griffin (20) Blake Griffin (10) Chris Paul (13) Staples Center 19,060 27–21 49 March 26 New Orleans W 97–85 Chris Paul (25) Blake Griffin (7) Chris Paul (10) Staples Center 19,060 28–21 50 March 28 Phoenix W 103–86 Blake Griffin (27) Blake Griffin (14) Chris Paul (15) Staples Center 19,060 29–21 51 March 30 Portland W 98–97 Three players (20) Blake Griffin (13) Chris Paul (14) Staples Center 19,060 30–21 52 March 31 Utah W 105–96 Chris Paul (26) DeAndre Jordan (10) Three players (6) Staples Center 19,060 31–21
April: 9–5 (home: 4–1; road: 5–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 53 April 2 @ Dallas W 94–75 Randy Foye (28) Blake Griffin (16) Chris Paul (10) American Airlines Center 20,479 32–21 54 April 4 L. A. Lakers L 108–113 Caron Butler (28) Blake Griffin (9) Chris Paul (8) Staples Center 19,819 32–22 55 April 5 @ Sacramento W 93–85 Randy Foye (20) Blake Griffin (14) Chris Paul (16) Power Balance Pavilion 14,411 33–22 56 April 7 Sacramento W 109–94 Blake Griffin (27) Blake Griffin (14) Chris Paul (15) Staples Center 19,060 34–22 57 April 9 @ Memphis L 85–94 Chris Paul (21) DeAndre Jordan (14) Chris Paul (6) FedEx Forum 17,219 34–23 58 April 11 @ Oklahoma City W 100–98 Chris Paul (31) Blake Griffin (12) Blake Griffin (7) Chesapeake Energy Arena 18,203 35–23 59 April 12 @ Minnesota W 95–82 Blake Griffin (19) Blake Griffin (13) Chris Paul (8) Target Center 16,016 36–23 60 April 14 Golden State W 112–104 Chris Paul (28) Blake Griffin (9) Chris Paul (13) Staples Center 19,060 37–23 61 April 16 Oklahoma City W 92–77 Nick Young (19) DeAndre Jordan (12) Chris Paul (10) Staples Center 19,516 38–23 62 April 18 @ Denver W 104–98 Chris Paul (21) DeAndre Jordan (9) Chris Paul (8) Pepsi Center 17,219 39–23 63 April 19 @ Phoenix L 90–93 Chris Paul (19) Blake Griffin (11) Chris Paul (10) US Airways Center 14,644 39–24 64 April 22 New Orleans W 107–98 Chris Paul (33) Blake Griffin (15) Chris Paul (13) Staples Center 19,060 40–24 65 April 24 @ Atlanta L 102–109 Blake Griffin (36) DeAndre Jordan (9) Chris Paul (8) Philips Arena 18,223 40–25 66 April 25 @ New York L 93–99 Blake Griffin (29) Blake Griffin DeAndre Jordan (10) Blake Griffin (6) Madison Square Garden 19,763 40–26
2011–12 season schedule

Playoffs

2012 playoff game log
First Round: 4–3 (home: 2–1; road: 2–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 29 @ Memphis W 99–98 Nick Young (19) Reggie Evans (13) Chris Paul (11) FedExForum 18,119 1–0 2 May 2 @ Memphis L 98–105 Chris Paul (29) Blake Griffin (9) Chris Paul (6) FedExForum 18,119 1–1 3 May 5 Memphis W 87–86 Chris Paul (24) Reggie Evans (11) Chris Paul (11) Staples Center 19,060 2–1 4 May 7 Memphis W 101–97 (OT) Blake Griffin (30) Chris Paul (9) Griffin, Paul (7) Staples Center 19,167 3–1 5 May 9 @ Memphis L 80–92 Mo Williams (20) Blake Griffin (11) Chris Paul (4) FedExForum 18,119 3–2 6 May 11 Memphis L 88–90 Blake Griffin (15) Reggie Evans (10) Chris Paul (7) Staples Center 19,060 3–3 7 May 13 @ Memphis W 82–72 Chris Paul (19) Kenyon Martin (10) Chris Paul (4) FedExForum 18,119 4–3
Conference semifinals: 0–4 (home: 0–2; road: 0–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 May 15 @ San Antonio L 92–108 Eric Bledsoe (23) Griffin, Jordan (9) Chris Paul (10) AT&T Center 18,581 0–1 2 May 17 @ San Antonio L 88–105 Blake Griffin (20) DeAndre Jordan (7) Chris Paul (5) AT&T Center 18,581 0–2 3 May 19 San Antonio L 86–96 Blake Griffin (28) Blake Griffin (16) Chris Paul (11) Staples Center 19,060 0–3 4 May 20 San Antonio L 99–102 Chris Paul (23) DeAndre Jordan (8) Chris Paul (11) Staples Center 19,060 0–4
2012 schedule

Injuries and surgeries

Player	Injury Date	Injury Type
Chauncey Billups	February 6, 2012	Torn left Achilles tendon (out for the season)
Caron Butler	April 29, 2012	Broken bone in left hand (out for 1 game)

Transactions

Trades

December 14, 2011	To Los Angeles Clippers Chris Paul Two future second-round draft picks	To New Orleans Hornets Al-Farouq Aminu Eric Gordon Chris Kaman 2012 first-round draft pick
March 15, 2012	To Los Angeles Clippers Nick Young	To Washington Wizards Brian Cook 2015 second-round draft pick

Free agents

Re-signed

Player	Signed	Contract
Brian Cook	July 1, 2011	One-year deal (Player Option)
DeAndre Jordan	December 12, 2011	4-year deal (Matched offer by Golden State Warriors)

Additions

Player	Signed	Former Team
Caron Butler	December 9, 2011	Dallas Mavericks
Chauncey Billups	December 12, 2011	New York Knicks
Reggie Evans	December 22, 2011	Toronto Raptors
Solomon Jones	January 4, 2012	Indiana Pacers
Courtney Fortson	January 16, 2012	Los Angeles D-Fenders (D-League)
Kenyon Martin	February 3, 2012	Xinjiang Guanghui Flying Tigers (CBA)
Bobby Simmons	February 27, 2012 Contract expired March 20 Re-signed March 24	Reno Bighorns (D-League)

Subtractions

Player	Reason left	New team
Ike Diogu	Renounced, December 9	San Antonio Spurs
Jamario Moon	Renounced, December 9	Los Angeles D-Fenders (D-League)
Craig Smith	Renounced, December 9	Portland Trail Blazers
Willie Warren	Waived, December 19	Rio Grande Valley Vipers (D-League)
Courtney Fortson	Waived, January 27	Los Angeles D-Fenders (D-League)
Solomon Jones	Waived, February 7	New Orleans Hornets

References