On December 30th, the CBA league saw Shanghai win an away game in overtime against Nanjing Tongxi with a score of 133:131. This marked their last match of 2024, and they concluded half the season with an 11-game winning streak. From a 1-win, 9-loss record in the first stage to their current 11 consecutive victories, Shanghai has changed coaches, foreign players, and mentality. They now face all opponents with what can be considered their strongest lineup this season, and every victory is justified. The current 11-game winning streak is not the end for them this season; how many more wins will they achieve? Let's look at the schedule, which is uniquely bizarre for Shanghai, making it fitting for miracles and records to emerge from them.
Originally, Shanghai was scheduled to play against Shanxi on January 1st, 2025, in the 25th round. However, for unknown reasons, the 25th round has been rescheduled to the end of February during the break period. This isn't the only rescheduled match for Shanghai; they have also yet to play their 13th round game, an away match against Beijing BAW, which has also been moved to late February.
Despite ranking 12th, Shanghai has played fewer games than others, with 22 rounds completed, 12 wins, and 10 losses. By win rate, they are actually in tenth place in the league.
Shanghai's first game in 2025 is on January 4th, the 26th round, at home against Ningbo. Following that are two away games: against Tianjin on January 6th in the 27th round and against Beikong on January 8th in the 28th round. They then return home to play Guangzhou and Jiangsu. These matches seem relatively easy, and with the most optimistic outlook, none of these teams should pose a threat to Shanghai, making a 16-game winning streak not out of the question. The real challenge comes on January 14th, 2025, when they play Liaoning away, but that's half a month away, so we'll see what happens—perhaps Liaoning will falter first. After that, there's Shanxi, who are no pushovers...
Considering this, Shanghai fans must be confident about their team achieving a 16-game winning streak. As for Liaoning, who stands in the way of a 17-game streak, they're formidable, but if Zhao Jiwei continues to be absent, Shanghai has a significant chance. We await the results.
