The second phase of the highly anticipated CBA regular season has been filled with intense competition, and recently, news about the new recruit Lai Si not being utilized by the traditional powerhouse Guangdong men's basketball team has caught the attention of fans. It is reported that although Guangdong team has signed the new recruit Lai Si, he has not been able to get the use of head coach Du Feng in the last three games. Even during garbage time in some games, Lai Si still did not get the opportunity to play. Du Feng prefers to train players like Zhang Haojia and Zhang Wenyi, while Lai Si has not only failed to score in three games but also had negligible playing time. Obviously, Guangdong team has gradually shifted its primary task to training players at this stage. This means that Guangdong team has probably completely entered a stage focused on cultivating newcomers.
In fact, after the Chinese men's basketball team's starting guard showed fatigue in multiple games, Lai Si was a highly anticipated new foreign aid for Guangdong team fans. Since joining Guangdong team, Lai Si has not only been considered capable of rotating with Xu Jie to become a new strong attacking point with the ball but also bringing a new tactical system to the team. Especially in terms of the double-big foreign aid strategy failing to achieve scoring breakthroughs and defending the perimeter, Lai Si was even hailed as the savior of the team by the outside world at one point. However, unexpectedly, Lai Si only got single-digit playing time in the three games after joining, not even as good as Guangdong team's previous foreign aid, Arms.
In the CBA league this season, where there is higher intensity competition among foreign players, the performance of foreign players directly affects the outcome of the game at critical moments. After it became clear that Lai Si could not be compared with Samner, Goodwin, Wells, Brown, and others, Guangdong team basically gave up the competition this season. At present, Guangdong team must bring out the two most talented newcomers, Huang Mingyi and Xu Xin. In the next few seasons, Guangdong men's basketball team may welcome top-level shooting guards like Chen Jiazheng or power forwards like Wang Hongze who can succeed Ren Junfei, but the small forward and center positions still need Huang Mingyi and Xu Xin to carry the flag. In this season where they are basically out of contention for the championship, Guangdong team must fully support Xu Xin and heavily use Huang Mingyi on the front line.
In other words, as long as either the frontcourt Huang Mingyi or the inside line Xu Xin can establish their position, Guangdong team can reshape the championship-contending tactical system with a more balanced lineup. In the last game, Guangdong team's double-big foreign aid lineup surprisingly lost to Liaoning team, which only had veterans Han Dejun and Li Xiaoxu in the paint, indicating that the team's future frontcourt needs rebuilding. At this time, Guangdong team seizing the opportunity to train Huang Mingyi and Xu Xin will be the only choice. After the youth training reserve echelon no longer has a phenomenal leader appearing, Guangdong team must develop immediate combat effectiveness within the existing lineup, and with Xu Jie and Hu Mingxuan's peak period nearing its end, there is still a chance to challenge for the CBA championship.
In summary, Guangdong team is likely to start using newcomers like Xu Xin and Huang Mingyi in the future, then vigorously training them to complete the generational change as soon as possible. As for the new foreign aid Lai Si, as well as Bazley, Gillenwater, Morland, and others, they may gradually be abandoned by Guangdong men's basketball team in subsequent games.