On January 7th, Beijing time, Zhang Ning continued to have a big explosion, but there was no smile on his face. He has been targeted by referees for three consecutive games and criticized after being named, now he has really become a negative example.
Shanxi team recently played several wonderful games, including the previous 25-point comeback against Xinjiang, and now they have won a tough victory against Fujian. Looking at the data from these recent games, Zhang Ning played well, scoring 19 points with 6 rebounds and 1 assist against Xinjiang with 16 shots made out of 7 attempts, but his three-point shooting was a bit embarrassing with only 1 out of 8 shots made. Now against Fujian, he scored 21 points with 5 rebounds and 4 assists, making 11 out of 6 shots and 3 out of 7 three-pointers. These two games can be considered as playing at the expected level.
Including the previous game against Qingdao, Zhang Ning scored 20 points, but Shanxi suffered a crushing defeat. The combined statistics of the two games were 40 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists, totaling 60 points in three games. However, Zhang Ning's playing time has been significantly reduced in these few games. This season, he is known as Shanxi's workhorse, previously having a lot of playing time, but he only played 28 minutes against Xinjiang, why? Because he was ejected after committing six fouls in just 28 minutes.
In the previous game where Shanxi faced Qingdao, they were blown out by Qingdao, and Zhang Ning was even more exaggerated, being called for four fouls in the last three minutes, which is really absurd, as if the referees were deliberately targeting him. It is now obvious that the referees are giving him special attention. In one game, he was ejected after committing six fouls in 28 minutes, and in another game, he was severely punished for four fouls in just three minutes. Is this normal?
And in today's game against Fujian, although Fujian doesn't have many players who can hurt him, Zhang Ning still committed five fouls in 34 and a half minutes of play. Over the course of three consecutive games, Zhang Ning averaged five fouls per game. Isn't this a sign of being singled out and subjected to strict punishment? This is what happened after the CBA reforms, with increased scrutiny and targeting, causing him to even hesitate to make certain moves.
Previously, Zhang Ning's actions were indeed quite active, and sometimes he would be called for fouls, but such an exaggerated situation with an average of five fouls per game over three games is rare. This has also affected Zhang Ning's performance to some extent. For example, in the game they lost to Qingdao, it was his first game after being named, and Zhang Ning's state dropped significantly.
Moreover, Zhang Ning's teammates were even more absurd at that time, with Ge Zhaobao committing six fouls in 17 minutes and Diyallo committing five fouls in less than 30 minutes. It seems that the referees are not just targeting Zhang Ning, but even the entire Shanxi team is being watched, as if they want to use them as a negative example. This is really absurd. They originally wanted to compete for the championship this year, but as the second-ranked team in the league, they need to find ways to reduce their fouls first.