Guangdong Men's Basketball Team has won four consecutive victories, narrowing the gap in wins with the top four teams. However, the issue of lacking rotation options for their core guard Xu Jie remains unsolved. Yang Yi, who was promoted to the first team this season, is even shorter than Xu Jie and lacks mid-to-long-range shooting ability, making him ineffective both offensively and defensively. Coach Du Feng tried him out in one game but did not dare to use him again. Other domestic guards on the team either lack the ability to dribble to the front court or are accustomed to playing supporting roles, unable to share the workload of Xu Jie. Therefore, there is an urgent need to introduce a small foreign aid with ball-handling capabilities.
According to several authoritative media sources, Guangdong Men's Basketball Team has officially offered a 1.93-meter guard, De'Shan Nichols. As a representative of tall point guards, Nichols' ball control and handling skills can definitely meet the requirements of Coach Du Feng. However, he is slightly lacking in shooting ability. Since he only needs to cover the remaining schedule of the second stage, such a short-term contract does not require a significant salary investment. If he can develop good chemistry with the team, he will continue to be signed until the end of the season; otherwise, he is likely to leave after the second stage ends. Zhu Fangyu will look for suitable reinforcements from the NBA's February layoff list.
According to news provided by Liaoning media, Liaoning Men's Basketball Team's foreign player James Webb III has arrived in China and will join the team tonight. If the registration procedures go smoothly, he may make his debut in the game against Beijing Enterprises Group Men's Basketball Team. In the game against Sichuan Blue Whales, Liaoning's big foreign player Justin Patton was promoted to the starting lineup. Although his offensive efficiency was good and his passing skills were not bad, he was slightly inferior to Morand in terms of rebounding protection. Most of the time, he just held his position and assisted his teammates in protecting rebounds rather than directly securing rebounds. However, considering his overall abilities, if Liaoning Men's Basketball Team only aims to reach the top four, it is sufficient. If they want to win the championship under the new policy of four quarters and seven foreign players, it would be best to reserve a more powerful big foreign player, although the price would certainly not be cheap.
After being reversed and defeated by Zhejiang Guangsha in a strong matchup, Beijing Ducks head coach Xu Limin was called to step down by fans after the game. In fact, losing by single digits to the championship favorites Guangsha when Chen Yingjun and Zeng Fanbo were absent is not unacceptable. However, Coach Xu's average allocation of playing time and shooting rights among the players made the Beijing fans extremely dissatisfied. The core of team basketball is not about equal distribution, but rather about formulating tactics around the player who is in good form during the game. Once encountering a double-team, the ball should be reasonably passed, and when a strong point appears on the court, it should be firmly attacked. Xu's failure to design tactics around Zhou Qi in the final moments was the biggest mistake, and in terms of foreign player selection, the current three foreign players on the team all lack the hard-solving ability urgently needed in tough games. If they are not replaced before the playoffs, they will become a fatal weakness for the team.
According to Zhejiang media reports, after Bo Ban's debut, Zhejiang Guangsha made another move by signing new aid Nunnally. As a result, Coach Wang Bo now has five foreign players to choose from. Originally, Nunnally was intended to replace Carton, but Carton's performance in the crucial moments of the Beijing-Guangsha battle made Guangsha realize that they could not make the mistake of cutting Oliver again. Therefore, even if Nunnally joins the team, the existing four foreign players will all remain, and appropriate foreign players will be sent out according to the opponent's situation. This season, Zhejiang Guangsha is determined to compete for the championship, so they have made a big investment in recruitment, hoping to bring the first CBA championship trophy to Zhejiang fans.