As the biggest dark horse in the CBA league, undefeated and invincible in the new season, Shanxi team unexpectedly faced Qingdao team not only being hit 9:0 in the first 2 minutes of the away game, but also scoring only 15 points in the first 10 minutes, ending the first quarter trailing Qingdao team by 14 points. The key point is that Shanxi team had a 50% three-point shooting rate in this game, hitting 13 out of 26 attempts, but the team unfortunately lost the game by a margin of 7 points with a score of 122:129. Is it because Coach Pan Jiang was careless and underestimated the opponent, or did he consciously accumulate strength to save face and avenge Xinjiang team at their home court?
In this game, although Shanxi team was playing away, their overall rotation and individual combat capabilities seemed to be superior to Qingdao team's. The key is that Shanxi team has four outstanding foreign players, while Qingdao team currently has only two foreign players. Once physical fatigue sets in, it would be difficult for Qingdao team to stop Shanxi team's counterattack in the last quarter. However, what was unexpected was that Qingdao team not only played high-quality offense at the beginning, but also maintained a perfect 9:0 start within 2 minutes. More confusingly, it seemed that all the Shanxi team players were out of form, with the team making a total of 6 turnovers in the first quarter. As the starting small foreign player, Goodwin alone made 3 turnovers, and the other two small foreign players, Diawara and Lemont, who were adjusted by Coach Pan Jiang, also made 1 turnover each. As the initiators of Shanxi team's offense, the three small foreign players made a total of 5 turnovers in the first quarter, making it difficult for Shanxi team to play a smooth offense. Moreover, there were numerous defensive loopholes, allowing Qingdao team to score a high 37 points in the first quarter.
In fact, except for the first quarter where Shanxi team was a bit abnormal, the next three quarters truly demonstrated their strength, with scores exceeding 30 points each. However, Shanxi team's defense was not well executed, allowing Qingdao team to score over 30 points in all quarters except for the second quarter when they were limited to 25 points. Qingdao team's scoring points were mainly the small foreign player Wessels and the big foreign player Mickey, along with domestic players Yang Hanshen and Wang Ruijie, as well as Duan Angjun. In previous games against other teams, Shanxi team always used double-teaming tactics on key scorers or insisted on rotating key defenses from the beginning of the game. However, in this game, Shanxi team seemed a bit cautious on the defensive end, never daring to boldly double-team Qingdao team's key players. This led to Qingdao team's small foreign player Wessels scoring 39 points, 1 rebound, and 8 assists within 45 minutes, and the big foreign player Mickey scoring 32 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists in nearly 36 minutes. Together, they scored 71 points, almost two-thirds of Qingdao team's total score.
Of course, for Shanxi team, aside from controlling their own turnovers and deficiencies in defense, the team's overall passion for playing, especially in the battle for rebounds, was lacking. Qingdao team's overall height and frontline rotation do not match up to Shanxi team's, with Shanxi team's Liu Chuanxing, Ge Zhaobao, big foreign player Faye, and even Jiao Hailong all having heights exceeding 205 cm. Qingdao team, apart from Yang Hanshen and big foreign player Mickey, rarely has anyone capable of playing the No. 5 position. Although Jia Cheng also has decent height, his playing time has been very limited, with only 17 minutes in this game. However, Qingdao team's rebound protection was far superior to Shanxi team's, grabbing a total of 50 rebounds, 10 more than Shanxi team, especially with 20 offensive rebounds compared to Shanxi team's 12. This might be another main reason for Shanxi team's loss. Additionally, Shanxi team's overall free throw shooting percentage was quite poor in this game, with only Zhang Ning and Yuan Shuai exceeding 65%, while the two small foreign players Goodwin and Diawara were both below 65%.
Shanxi team lost because they dug themselves a big hole in the first quarter. They started the game out of form, and the large deficit in the first quarter affected their mentality. There are roughly two reasons for this: first, they may have been a bit careless and underestimated the opponent, which could be the main reason for the loss. After all, in the new season, Shanxi team's overall performance and ranking in the league are far above Qingdao team's. The key is that Qingdao team has very limited rotation players, mostly maintaining a rotation of seven or eight players, and the team is often plagued by injuries. Shanxi team, as the dark horse of the new season, not only can defeat weak opponents by a large margin, but also can turn the tide and achieve a great comeback in front of strong teams, especially when the team is significantly behind. Especially in the last quarter with a single foreign player, Shanxi team often plays unexpected miracles. Therefore, even if they fell behind at the beginning, with a difference of 14 points in the first quarter, they still believed that they could rely on their ability to catch up later and turn the situation around in the last quarter. However, they unexpectedly capsized.
Of course, there may be a second reason: to avoid being double-killed by Xinjiang team at home and away in the new season, so they consciously accumulated strength to go all out against Xinjiang team at home and avenge their previous defeat. After all, ten days ago, after fighting four quarters away against Xinjiang team, Shanxi team missed the opportunity at a critical moment, leading to a regrettable loss to their opponents. Especially after the game, Coach Pan Jiang's remarks became a hot topic among fans. As a dark horse team in the new season, they are capable of competing with any opponent, especially strong teams, and cannot be double-killed at home and away continuously. The key is that Xinjiang team is currently in trouble, with Wu Guanxi, the inside player, not yet recovered from injury, Zhao Rui, the core guard, facing a suspension crisis, and the team's soul figure, captain Abudu Salamu, also injured. In such a situation, if Shanxi team fails to defeat Xinjiang team at home again, not only will they lose face, but they will also be regarded by fans as a complete fake strong team.
Therefore, Shanxi team may have been careless and underestimated the opponent because of this reason, wanting to easily defeat Qingdao to accumulate strength to deal with Xinjiang team, but they unexpectedly lost to Qingdao. The key is that Shanxi team's overall three-point shooting rate reached 50%, but they eventually lost regrettably, which may be the direct reason to avoid being double-killed by Xinjiang team at home and away.