2006–07 Chicago Bulls season

2006–07 Chicago Bulls season
2006–07 Chicago Bulls season
Head coach	Scott Skiles
General manager	John Paxson
Owners	Jerry Reinsdorf
Arena	United Center
Results
Record	49–33 (.598)
Place	Division: 3rd (Central); Conference: 5th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Conference Semifinals; (Lost to Pistons 2–4)
	Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	CSN Chicago, WGN, WCIU
Radio	WCKG
< 2005–06	2007–08 >

The 2006-07 Chicago Bulls finished with a record of 49-33 in the regular season and reached the second round of the NBA playoffs, making it, at the time, their most successful season since the retirement of Michael Jordan, but nevertheless leaving some doubt amongst fans as to whether the team could compete for an NBA championship in the near future.

In the playoffs, the Bulls swept the defending NBA champion Miami Heat in four games in the First Round, before losing to the Detroit Pistons in six games in the Semifinals.

Offseason

Whereas previous seasons under General Manager John Paxson focused mostly on allowing the young players which comprised the core of the Bulls' roster to develop, before the '06-'07 season Paxson made an expensive free-agent signing in the form of Ben Wallace. Many fans were excited about the veteran experience and star power Wallace brought to the team, though some questioned if he was the best fit for the team, as Wallace had always been known for his defense, and many believed that the Bulls' biggest problem was a lack of inside scoring.

On July 20, the Bulls traded Tyson Chandler to the New Orleans Hornets for J.R. Smith. However, six days later, Smith was traded again, this time to the Denver Nuggets, in exchange for Howard Eisley and two second-round draft picks.

NBA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College / Club Team
1	2	LaMarcus Aldridge (traded to Portland)	F	United States	Texas
1	16	Rodney Carney (traded to Philadelphia)	F	United States	Memphis

Regular season

The Bulls got off to a rocky start, posting a record of 3-9 in their first 12 games. The criticism by some in the offseason about the signing of Ben Wallace seemed to gain some validity, as Wallace appeared to show his age and was not always able to put up big rebounding numbers as he had been known for with the Pistons. However, as they had in the 2004-05 season in which they started 0-9, the Bulls performed better as the season went on and finished 49-33. The record was good enough to receive the #5 seed among the 8 teams qualifying for the Eastern Conference Playoffs. The Bulls, however, lost their final game of the season to the New Jersey Nets^[1] which would have boosted them to a #2 seed and given them an easier path to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Season standings

Central Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Detroit Pistons	53	29	.646	-	26–15	27–14	9–7
x-Cleveland Cavaliers	50	32	.610	3	30–11	20–21	10–6
x-Chicago Bulls	49	33	.598	4	31–10	18–23	12–4
Indiana Pacers	35	47	.427	18	22–19	13–28	8–8
Milwaukee Bucks	28	54	.341	25	18–23	10–31	1–15

#	Eastern Conference v t e
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Detroit Pistons	53	29	.646	–
2	x-Cleveland Cavaliers	50	32	.610	3
3	y-Toronto Raptors	47	35	.573	6
4	y-Miami Heat	44	38	.537	9
5	x-Chicago Bulls	49	33	.598	4
6	x-New Jersey Nets	41	41	.500	12
7	x-Washington Wizards	41	41	.500	12
8	x-Orlando Magic	40	42	.488	13

9	Philadelphia 76ers	35	47	.427	18
10	Indiana Pacers	35	47	.427	18
11	New York Knicks	33	49	.402	20
12	Charlotte Bobcats	33	49	.402	20
13	Atlanta Hawks	30	52	.366	23
14	Milwaukee Bucks	28	54	.341	25
15	Boston Celtics	24	58	.293	29

Record vs. opponents

2006-07 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHA	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MEM	MIA	MIL	MIN	NJN	NOK	NYK	ORL	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	TOR	UTA	WAS
Atlanta	—	3–1	1–3	0–4	1–3	0–2	1–1	1–2	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–0	0–2	2–0	0–4	1–2	2–0	1–2	0–2	1–2	3–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	0–2	1–3
Boston	1–3	—	2–2	0–3	1–2	0–2	1–1	0–4	0–2	1–1	1–3	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–2	2–2	1–1	2–2	0–2	3–1	1–3	1–3	0–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	0–2	0–3
Charlotte	3–1	2–2	—	1–2	2–2	0–2	1–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–2	0–2	2–0	0–2	2–2	2–2	1–1	1–2	1–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–3	1–1	2–2
Chicago	4–0	3–0	2–1	—	2–2	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–1	0–2	3–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	3–1	4–0	0–2	1–3	2–0	3–1	1–2	2–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–0	2–2	0–2	3–1
Cleveland	3–1	2–1	2–2	2–2	—	0–2	0–2	1–3	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–3	4–0	2–0	2–1	1–1	2–2	1–2	3–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	3–1	1–1	2–1
Dallas	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	—	3–1	1–1	0–3	3–1	2–0	2–1	3–1	4–0	2–0	2–0	4–0	2–0	4–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–2	3–0	4–0	3–1	4–0	2–0	1–2	1–1
Denver	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–3	—	0–2	3–1	1–2	2–0	2–1	3–1	2–2	2–0	2–0	2–2	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–2	3–1	2–2	1–2	3–1	1–1	1–3	1–1
Detroit	2–1	4–0	2–2	1–3	3–1	1–1	2–0	—	0–2	1–1	2–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–1	3–1	1–1	4–0	1–1	2–1	4–0	3–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–1	0–2	2–2
Golden State	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	3–0	1–3	2–0	—	2–1	1–1	2–2	0–4	3–1	0–2	0–2	2–1	1–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–3	2–1	3–1	1–3	3–1	1–1	2–2	1–1
Houston	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–1	1–1	1–2	—	1–1	3–1	2–2	4–0	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–3	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–3	2–2	3–0	2–2	3–0	1–1	1–3	2–0
Indiana	3–1	3–1	2–1	1–3	1–3	0–2	0–2	2–2	1–1	1–1	—	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	4–0	0–2	0–4	1–1	2–1	2–2	2–2	0–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–2	0–2	0–3
L.A. Clippers	0–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	0–2	1–2	1–2	0–2	2–2	1–3	1–1	—	2–2	3–0	2–0	2–0	1–2	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	2–2	0–4	2–2	0–2	1–3	1–1
L.A. Lakers	2–0	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–3	1–3	0–2	4–0	2–2	1–1	2–2	—	2–2	1–1	0–2	3–1	2–0	1–2	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–3	1–2	3–1	2–1	3–1	1–1	2–1	1–1
Memphis	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	0–4	2–2	0–2	1–3	0–4	0–2	0–3	2–2	—	0–2	0–2	2–1	0–2	1–3	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–4	2–2	1–2	1–3	1–2	1–1	1–3	1–1
Miami	4–0	2–1	2–2	1–3	3–1	0–2	0–2	1–2	2–0	0–2	2–2	0–2	1–1	2–0	—	2–1	2–0	3–1	1–1	1–3	0–4	1–3	0–2	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–1	2–0	3–1
Milwaukee	2–1	2–2	2–2	0–4	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–3	2–0	0–2	0–4	0–2	2–0	2–0	1–2	—	2–0	1–2	0–2	1–3	1–3	2–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–3	0–2	1–3
Minnesota	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–4	2–2	1–1	1–2	2–2	2–0	2–1	1–3	1–2	0–2	0–2	—	1–1	1–3	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–3	2–2	2–2	1–2	1–3	0–2	1–3	1–1
New Jersey	2–1	2–2	2–1	3–1	1–2	0–2	1–1	0–4	1–1	0–2	4–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–3	2–1	1–1	—	1–1	4–0	2–2	2–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	2–0	4–0
New Orleans/Oklahoma City	2–0	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–4	2–2	1–1	1–3	3–1	1–1	2–2	2–1	3–1	1–1	2–0	3–1	1–1	—	2–0	1–1	0–2	0–3	1–2	3–1	0–4	2–2	0–2	1–2	1–1
New York	2–1	1–3	2–2	1–3	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–2	1–1	0–2	1–2	1–1	2–0	2–0	3–1	3–1	0–2	0–4	0–2	—	2–1	1–3	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–1	2–2
Orlando	1–3	3–1	2–2	2–1	2–1	0–2	1–1	0–4	1–1	0–2	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	4–0	3–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–2	—	2–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–4	2–0	2–2
Philadelphia	3–1	3–1	2–2	1–2	1–3	0–2	1–1	1–3	0–2	0–2	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–2	0–2	2–2	2–0	3–1	1–2	—	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–3	1–1	0–3
Phoenix	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	2–1	1–1	3–1	3–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	4–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	2–0	3–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	—	4–0	3–1	1–2	2–1	2–0	1–3	1–1
Portland	1–1	0–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–3	1–3	1–1	1–2	2–2	0–2	1–3	2–1	2–2	0–2	1–1	2–2	2–0	2–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–4	—	2–2	0–4	2–2	1–1	2–2	2–0
Sacramento	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–4	2–2	1–1	1–3	0–3	2–0	2–2	1–3	2–1	0–2	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–3	2–2	—	0–4	2–1	1–1	2–1	0–2
San Antonio	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–3	2–1	2–0	3–1	2–2	1–1	4–0	1–2	3–1	1–1	0–2	2–1	2–0	4–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–1	4–0	4–0	—	4–0	2–0	2–2	2–0
Seattle	2–0	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–4	1–3	0–2	1–3	0–3	2–0	2–2	1–3	2–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	2–0	2–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–2	2–2	1–2	0–4	—	1–1	2–2	0–2
Toronto	2–2	3–1	3–0	2–2	1–3	0–2	1–1	1–2	1–1	1–1	2–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–2	3–1	2–0	2–2	2–0	3–1	4–0	3–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	—	0–2	3–1
Utah	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–1	3–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	2–0	3–1	1–2	3–1	0–2	2–0	3–1	0–2	2–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	2–2	1–2	2–2	2–2	2–0	—	1–1
Washington	3–1	3–0	2–2	1–3	1–2	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	3–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–3	3–1	1–1	0–4	1–1	2–2	2–2	3–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	0–2	2–0	1–3	1–1	—

Postseason

The Bulls opened the playoffs by defeating the defending champion Miami Heat in a 4-0 sweep. The Heat were hindered by a nagging injury to Dwyane Wade, but nevertheless most observed felt that the Bulls had outplayed the Heat in the series.

East First Round

(4) Miami Heat vs. (5) Chicago Bulls

ABC

April 21

1

Miami Heat 91, Chicago Bulls 96

United Center, Chicago

TNT

April 24

2

Miami Heat 89, Chicago Bulls 107

United Center, Chicago

ESPN

April 27

3

Chicago Bulls 104, Miami Heat 96

American Airlines Arena, Miami

ABC

April 29

4

Chicago Bulls 92, Miami Heat 79
Chicago wins series, 4–0

American Airlines Arena, Miami

Last Playoff Meeting: 2006 Eastern Conference First Round (Miami won 4-2)

In the second round, the #1 seed Detroit Pistons quickly put a damper on the excitement of Bulls' fans by soundly defeating the Bulls in Game 1 of the seven game series, holding the Bulls to 33% shooting and only 69 points.^[2] The Bulls would continue to struggle, scoring just 87 and 74 points in games 2 and 3 respectively, and finding themselves in a 3-0 series deficit. The Bulls stayed alive by winning games 4 and 5, scoring triple digits in each game, but then suffered a 95-85 defeat on their home court in game 6 to end their season.

East Conference Semifinals

(1) Detroit Pistons vs. (5) Chicago Bulls

TNT

May 5

1

Chicago Bulls 69, Detroit Pistons 95

The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills

TNT

May 7

2

Chicago Bulls 87, Detroit Pistons 108

The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills

ESPN

May 10

3

Detroit Pistons 81, Chicago Bulls 74

United Center, Chicago

ABC

May 13

4

Detroit Pistons 87, Chicago Bulls 102

United Center, Chicago

TNT

May 15

5

Chicago Bulls 108, Detroit Pistons 92

The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills

ESPN

May 17

6

Detroit Pistons 95, Chicago Bulls 85
Detroit wins series, 4–2

United Center, Chicago

Last Playoff Meeting: 1991 Eastern Conference Finals (Chicago won 4-0)

Awards and records

Luol Deng, NBA Sportsmanship Award
Kirk Hinrich, NBA All-Defensive Second Team
Ben Wallace, NBA All-Defensive Second Team
Tyrus Thomas, NBA All-Rookie Team Second Team

Roster

2006-07 Chicago Bulls roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Ht.	Wt.
PF	35	Allen, Malik	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	255 lb (116 kg)	Villanova
C	—	Andriuškevičius, Martynas (IN)	7 ft 2 in (2.18 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	Lithuania
PG	11	Barrett, Andre	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	172 lb (78 kg)	Seton Hall
PF	42	Brown, P. J.	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	Louisiana Tech
SF	9	Deng, Luol	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Duke
PG	21	Duhon, Chris	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Duke
SG	7	Gordon, Ben	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Connecticut
SG	44	Griffin, Adrian	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	217 lb (98 kg)	Seton Hall
PG	12	Hinrich, Kirk	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Kansas
SF	38	Khryapa, Viktor	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Russia
SF	5	Nocioni, Andres	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Argentina
SG	2	Sefolosha, Thabo	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Switzerland
PF	50	Sweetney, Mike	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	275 lb (125 kg)	Georgetown
PF	24	Thomas, Tyrus	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Louisiana State
C	3	Wallace, Ben	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	Virginia Union

Head coach

Scott Skiles (Michigan State)

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(S) Suspended
Injured

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

Regular season

Chicago Bulls statistics
Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Malik Allen	60	1	10.6	.415	.000	.824	2.0	.3	.3	.3	4.0
Andre Barrett	6	0	4.8	.500	.	.	.8	1.2	.0	.0	1.3
P. J. Brown	72	49	20.2	.407	.000	.787	4.8	.7	.3	.7	6.1
Luol Deng	82	82	37.5	.517	.143	.777	7.1	2.5	1.2	.6	18.8
Chris Duhon	78	30	24.4	.408	.359	.752	2.2	4.0	.9	.1	7.2
Ben Gordon	82	51	33.0	.455	.413	.864	3.1	3.6	.8	.2	21.4
Adrian Griffin	54	1	10.8	.473	.000	.789	2.0	1.1	.6	.1	2.5
Kirk Hinrich	80	80	35.5	.448	.415	.835	3.4	6.3	1.3	.3	16.6
Viktor Khryapa	33	0	7.0	.386	.000	.731	1.7	.6	.3	.0	2.2
Andres Nocioni	53	31	26.5	.467	.383	.848	5.7	1.1	.5	.5	14.1
Thabo Sefolosha	71	4	12.2	.426	.357	.511	2.2	.8	.5	.2	3.6
Mike Sweetney	48	0	8.0	.433	.	.561	2.5	.6	.2	.2	3.2
Tyrus Thomas	72	4	13.4	.475	.000	.606	3.7	.6	.6	1.1	5.2
Ben Wallace	77	77	35.0	.453	.200	.408	10.7	2.4	1.4	2.0	6.4

Playoffs

Chicago Bulls statistics
Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Malik Allen	5	0	6.8	.167	.	.	1.4	.2	.2	.2	.8
P. J. Brown	10	10	22.8	.493	.	.739	4.7	1.2	.8	.2	8.3
Luol Deng	10	10	41.0	.524	.000	.807	8.7	2.4	1.0	.7	22.2
Chris Duhon	9	0	19.1	.290	.316	.800	1.8	2.3	.3	.1	3.6
Ben Gordon	10	10	39.5	.415	.436	.921	3.8	3.8	.9	.1	20.4
Adrian Griffin	4	0	2.3	.000	.	.	.3	.0	.3	.0	.0
Kirk Hinrich	10	10	36.2	.376	.302	.769	4.2	7.5	.9	.3	12.1
Andres Nocioni	10	0	19.7	.360	.333	.722	3.5	.8	.2	.5	8.8
Thabo Sefolosha	9	0	11.0	.385	.375	.583	1.9	.8	.2	.0	3.3
Mike Sweetney	1	0	3.0	.500	.	.000	.0	.0	.0	.0	2.0
Tyrus Thomas	10	0	12.2	.390	.	.633	3.4	.6	1.0	.5	5.1
Ben Wallace	10	10	36.9	.566	.000	.500	9.5	1.4	1.5	1.7	8.7

Transactions

June 28, 2006: Drafted F LaMarcus Aldridge in the first round (2nd overall) of the 2006 NBA Draft
June 28, 2006: Drafted F Rodney Carney in the first round (16th overall) of the 2006 NBA Draft
June 28, 2006: Traded F LaMarcus Aldridge and a second-round draft pick to the Portland Trail Blazers for F Tyrus Thomas and F Viktor Khryapa
June 28, 2006: Traded F Rodney Carney, a second-round draft pick and cash to the Philadelphia 76ers for G Thabo Sefolosha
July 7, 2006: Waived F Othella Harrington
July 13, 2006: Signed free agent C Ben Wallace
July 14, 2006: Traded C Tyson Chandler to the New Orleans Hornets for F P. J. Brown and G J. R. Smith
July 20, 2006: Traded G J. R. Smith to the Denver Nuggets for G Howard Eisley and two second-round draft picks
July 31, 2006: Signed G Adrian Griffin
August 18, 2006: Traded G Eddie Basden to the Cleveland Cavaliers for C Martynas Andriuskevicius
October 30, 2006: Waived C Luke Schenscher
October 31, 2006: Re-signed G Kirk Hinrich

References

[1] ESPN - Chicago vs. New Jersey - Recap - April 18, 2007

[2] ESPN - Chicago vs. Detroit - Box Score - May 05, 2007

[1]

[2]