In the 27th round of the CBA regular season, Shandong Express will face Nanjing Tongxi at home. After the first 26 rounds, Shandong Express has a record of 18 wins and 8 losses, ranking fifth in the standings with a win rate of 69.2%. Nanjing Tongxi has a record of 13 wins and 13 losses, ranking 11th in the standings with a win rate of 50%.
Looking at the historical head-to-head record, Shandong Express has played against Nanjing Tongxi 22 times in history, with 20 wins and 2 losses, holding an absolute advantage. Last season, the two teams met twice, each winning one game, ending in a draw. However, neither team was able to enter the playoffs.
This season, both teams have undergone significant changes. Shandong Express replaced their head coach with Qiu Biao and made personnel adjustments, effectively changing their lineup. Nanjing Tongxi bid farewell to Wang Lanqin and brought in Guo Haowen and Zhu Mingzhen. Their head coach became Serbian veteran coach Belosevic. This is the first encounter between the two teams this season, which is a battle after the changes.
Judging from this season's performance, after Belosevic took office, he once led Tongxi to a record of 5 wins and 1 loss, including an away victory of 124:117 over the defending champion Liaoning Basketball Team. However, recently, the novelty of Belosevic's appointment seems to have faded, and their record in the last six rounds is only 2 wins and 4 losses, including a three-game losing streak. Overall, they still win less and lose more when facing the top eight teams.
Under Qiu Biao's leadership this season, Shandong Express has turned things around. Although the team's lineup is not considered strengthened, their rise is significantly higher than that of Nanjing Tongxi, the traffic team. They are a typical team that develops low-key. Looking at the last six rounds of games, Shandong Express has a record of 5 wins and 1 loss, performing much better than Nanjing Tongxi.
For Shandong Express, if they want to play tricks at home like the Monkey King, they must first address the challenge of how to defend against Guo Haowen and Lin Wei, the two young core players of Tongxi. Guo Haowen averages 16.9 points per season, ranking seventh among domestic players, while Lin Wei averages 20.3 points, ranking first among domestic players. Shandong Express does not even have a domestic player in the top 30, with Chen Peidong ranking 40th, showing a clear gap.
At the same time, the second and third positions of Shandong Express' defense have always been the team's weakness. The recent form of the backcourt has also been average. In the last game against Guangdong, they allowed the small guard Xu Jie to perform at a foreign aid level. Gao Shiyan has had minor injuries, and in the last game, his defense was not up to par, and his offense was a complete failure.
In the last game, Qiu Biao used Hou Peizuo more on the front line to guard the wing, but judging by his performance, it would be difficult for him to defend against Guo Haowen. It remains to be seen how Qiu Biao will arrange for this game. Regardless, these two players will be a concern for Qiu Biao.
Although Nanjing Tongxi's choice of foreign aid this season was somewhat abstract, Liufu, a familiar face in the CBA, has found himself again in Nanjing Tongxi, emerging from the slump he experienced last season with Beijing BAIC. This season, Liufu averages 22.3 points, 13.5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.8 blocks, demonstrating very comprehensive abilities and returning to the ranks of top-tier foreign aids.
The opponent for Shandong Express is undoubtedly foreign aid Chris. Chris, who started slow but picked up momentum, has made a comeback from being considered a flop in the first stage to becoming Shandong Express' top foreign aid in the second stage. However, in the last away game against Guangdong, he performed quite ordinarily, struggling without Guo Kai, his protector, by his side.
It is still uncertain whether Guo Kai will return for this game, and Chris needs to reignite his performance. Judging from several important games in the second stage, Shandong Express must have Chris deliver outstanding performances in tough matches. In victories over Qingdao, Beikong, Beijing Auto, and Xinjiang, Chris was the team's top offensive player. However, in the loss to Guangdong, it was precisely his lackluster performance that cost them the game.
How can Shandong Express successfully play tricks like a monkey in this game? One of the answers lies in how Qiu Biao activates Chris!
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