Every 2011-12 NBA race charted day by day: East, Atlantic, Central, Southeast, West, Northwest, Pacific and Southwest. Final standings, from a season that ran December 25, 2011 to April 26, 2012.
Loading season data…
East standings, 2011-12
Team
W
L
Pct
GB
L10
Streak
Chicago Bulls (CHI)
50
16
.758
-
7-3
W3
Miami Heat (MIA)
46
20
.697
4
6-4
L2
Indiana Pacers (IND)
42
24
.636
8
8-2
L1
Atlanta Hawks (ATL)
40
26
.606
10
7-3
W2
Boston Celtics (BOS)
39
27
.591
11
7-3
W2
Orlando Magic (ORL)
37
29
.561
13
4-6
L1
New York Knicks (NYK)
36
30
.545
14
7-3
W3
Philadelphia 76ers (PHI)
35
31
.530
15
6-4
L1
Milwaukee Bucks (MIL)
31
35
.470
19
3-7
L2
Detroit Pistons (DET)
25
41
.379
25
4-6
W1
Toronto Raptors (TOR)
23
43
.348
27
3-7
W1
New Jersey Nets (NJN)
22
44
.333
28
3-7
L6
Cleveland Cavaliers (CLE)
21
45
.318
29
2-8
L4
Washington Wizards (WAS)
20
46
.303
30
8-2
W6
Charlotte Bobcats (CHA)
7
59
.106
43
0-10
L23
The dashed line on the chart is the pace of the final playoff spot.
Turning points
The lead changed hands 4 times.
The Chicago Bulls trailed by as many as 1.5 games on December 28, 2011.
The Chicago Bulls took first place for good on March 2, 2012.
The Miami Heat won 9 games in a row from February 10, 2012 to March 1, 2012, the longest run of the race.
The Miami Heat led by 1 game as late as January 8, 2012.
The Chicago Bulls went 15-2 from December 28, 2011 to January 23, 2012, turning a deficit of 1.5 games into a lead of 3 games.
The top two ended the day within one game of each other on 42 of the 120 days played.
Seven teams held first place.
The Chicago Bulls spent 99 of the season's 124 charted days in first place.