A champion team fears not the strength of its opponents but the collapse from within. Recently, Guangdong Men's Basketball Team has been facing a "manpower shortage" in their guard line. The unexpected injury of Hu Mingxuan has plunged the team into a crisis; Xu Jie, bearing the pressure alone, is already gasping for breath. If this continues, how many rounds can Guangdong hold on?
At this moment, a foreign player named Taysir Akili Bart has come into focus. Some say he is the "clone" of Liaoning's foreign player Frug, with comprehensive skills and a tough style; others claim that Bart's addition is the life-saving straw for Guangdong Men's Basketball Team. However, whether or not he can save the day depends on how he is used and how much force he can exert.
For Guangdong fans, Hu Mingxuan's withdrawal is like a bolt from the blue. He was the mainstay of the guard line, shouldering a large amount of organizing and defensive tasks, but recently had to bid farewell to the court due to a severe shoulder injury. According to doctors, it will take about three months for him to recover.
What does three months mean? It not only means that Guangdong cannot expect him to return before the end of the second stage of this season, but also plunges the entire guard line into a dilemma of "not enough manpower and too much intensity."
With Hu Mingxuan gone, all the problems fall on Xu Jie - this little guard is full of fighting spirit, but let's not forget that basketball is a five-person game, and it's hard to rely on one person to carry the load without being completely exhausted. In the last match against Shandong, Xu Jie used his accurate three-point shots to help Guangdong win. After the game, someone noticed him panting, with sweat flowing down his uniform onto the floor.
After several such high-load matches, who can stand it? This is not just a problem of the game, but also raises a bigger question - what if Xu Jie falls, what will Guangdong do?
Guangdong Men's Basketball Team has not been idle either. They previously signed a small foreign player named Les, whose paper data is quite good, but his actual performance is really poor. He seems completely unable to fit into Guangdong's system on both offense and defense, coupled with fluctuating form, he quietly left after playing a few games. This misstep not only wasted precious adjustment time for the team but also put them in a position where they have to bet big again.
At this point, the lesson is right in front of them, and Guangdong has to be more cautious. In an emergency, they decided to turn to a more practical strategy - "selecting from existing domestic foreign players." This includes Taysir Akili Bart, who is already in China. No need for visas, no long quarantine period, just a plane ticket, and he can arrive at the team for a trial at any moment. Guangdong doesn't have much time to hesitate, and this hurried selection can also be seen as a desperate attempt to "rob Peter to pay Paul."
So what can Bart do? Why is Guangdong willing to bet on him?
The 27-year-old Taysir Akili Bart comes from the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves, although he didn't establish himself there, he quickly turned to the international arena, performing commendably in both European leagues and later in Australia's NBL.
Especially in the NBL, he averages 28.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.6 assists, which indeed sounds impressive. For Guangdong, what's important now is not the data but practical ability and quick adaptation.
More crucially, Bart's personal style is somewhat similar to Liaoning's foreign player Frug. As we all know, Frug is recognized in the CBA as a "steady" foreign player, able to dominate the rhythm on the offensive end and exert strong pressure on the defensive end. And Guangdong needs such a balanced role that can expand firepower when scoring and clear loopholes when defending online.
Some may ask, can Bart really change the situation? For the current Guangdong Men's Basketball Team, this step of recruitment is indeed a rescue. But precisely because of this, Bart's task is quite heavy.
Firstly, he can directly alleviate the pressure on Xu Jie. As a swingman, Bart not only has ample firepower on the scoring end but also has a wide coverage on the defensive end, which can share some of the organizing and marking tasks for Xu Jie. What Xu Jie needs most is breathing space, and Bart is undoubtedly a patch to plug the gap.
Secondly, Guangdong Men's Basketball Team's long-standing problem of "top-heavy and bottom-light" also needs Bart to break. Due to the slight softness of the inside line, they rely more on a tactical system that uses defense to drive offense. If Bart can integrate well, he can become the engine of the team's transition offense and fill the defensive chain gap left by Hu Mingxuan's absence.
Of course, recruitment is never a panacea. Bart has potential, but it takes time to cooperate with the whole team in a short period. Moreover, even if Bart performs heroically, can a small foreign player sustain the competitive rhythm of the entire season? Other shortcomings of Guangdong, such as insufficient height in the inside line and defensive coordination issues, still need to be solved through overall adjustments.
Speaking of Frug, everyone knows that this foreign player's performance in Liaoning is phenomenal. Guangdong's choice of a style-similar Bart clearly intends to imitate such a successful case. Bart's addition will undoubtedly inject more vitality into Guangdong's offense and defense, but whether he can become a core piece of the team like Frug depends on whether his trial goes smoothly.
However, to put it another way, the CBA is actually a league with very demanding requirements for foreign players. Even top-tier foreign players like Frug need a phase of "muddling through" until they blend smoothly with the team's tactical system. If Bart wants to make a comeback as a hero, he must also face the issue of tactical adaptation. Whether he can achieve immediate results in the shortest time, Guangdong fans are still unsure.
This recruitment by Guangdong Men's Basketball Team may well become a key turning point in the season. After all, "when the family runs out of food, outside rice smells good," but how fragrant it is for a few meals depends on how it's cooked. What Bart needs to do is prove with his strength that he is not a temporary worker, and whether Guangdong can soar again because of this remains to be seen in the game.