Today's title is a bit awkward, but after thinking about it, it seems there is no more appropriate way to say it. Today, I want to talk about two players. One is Qi Lin, who grew up in praise, was born and raised in Beijing, and now plays for the Xinjiang team. The other is Zhang Cairen, who was born and raised in Tacheng, Xinjiang, came to Beijing Youth Team at the age of 15, and now plays for Shougang.
Zhang Cairen, born in 1995 and just turned 30 yesterday, celebrated his birthday night. On this day of turning 30, he scored 4 three-pointers in the fourth quarter alone and scored the highest 27 points in the entire game for his team! This is the highest score in Zhang Cairen's career so far.
Before this, this is a player that few fans from other places pay attention to, and Beijing fans jokingly call him the team's "cook." Unlike Fang Shuo's late blooming, Zhang Cairen has been on the fringes of the team since he joined the Beijing Youth Team at the age of 15, played in the CBA at the age of 20, and until now at the age of 30. In ten years of his career, he has never had a season with an average score of more than ten points. Even last season, when he welcomed a new high in playing time with an average of 26 minutes per game, he could only contribute an average of 7.6 points. Despite criticism and doubts throughout his career, he has never given up on himself. Just like last night's performance, he transformed from a "cook" into a "culinary god"!
Qi Lin, born into a basketball family, became famous at a young age, made a name for himself at Beijing No. 4 High School, was hailed as the top high school student, and then became the freshman king at Tsinghua. He became famous for almost successfully dunking over someone during the CBA All-Star Game, later dropped out of school to join the Xinjiang Youth Team. After being promoted to the Xinjiang first team, he ushered in the team's rebuilding, with Ke Lan and Li Gen being sent away, gaining many opportunities, and then meeting his mentor Qiu Biao, who gave him absolute tactical status, averaging nearly 18 points last season. Apart from his rookie season, the shortest playing time Qi Lin had in a season was still an average of 28 minutes, scoring an average of 11 points.
Along the way, although there have been doubts, such as his ball-handling ability not being developed, Qi Lin can be said to have grown up in encouragement. However, this season, Qi Lin's average score has dropped to 13.9 points without a reduction in playing time, and his three-point shooting percentage has dropped from 41% last season to 33%. Moreover, his temper has become increasingly worse. Not only did he receive two technical fouls in a row this season, resulting in being ejected from the game and directly leading to Xinjiang being overtaken in points, but he also had a conflict with Goodwin and was suspended for three games.
Of course, making such a comparison here is not to blame Qi Lin, but to hope that he can remember where he came from and find the self who once contributed everything for the team's victory. Even if Zhang Cairen tries his best, his career average score may never surpass Qi Lin, but when he defends desperately on the court and hits those open three-pointers, he is contributing all his strength to the Beijing team.
Never forget your original intention, and you will achieve your goal in the end.