The highly anticipated second stage of the CBA regular season has seen continuous battles, with recent news about the Shanghai men's basketball team's efforts to challenge the defending champion Liaoning team drawing attention from fans. Ahead of the home game against the Jiangsu team in this round, it was revealed that Shanghai's main player Li Tianrong would be unable to play due to injury issues, and foreign aid Lofton might also not participate due to knee discomfort in the previous game. As a result, many fans predict that Shanghai is essentially resting its main players to gain an advantage in the next game against the defending champion Liaoning team. After all, although Shanghai has achieved an impressive 15-game winning streak, the Jiangsu team is unlikely to make a comeback on the road, but Liaoning is undoubtedly an opponent that Lu Wei cannot ignore.
Previously, the defending champion Liaoning team's main forward Zhang Zhenlin continued to be absent, but after the arrival of Patton and James-Webber, Yang Ming already had the capital to compete with all the championship contenders. For Shanghai, only with a full lineup and full energy can they have a chance to defeat Liaoning. Li Tianrong, who just won the best player of the round, is an indispensable core for Shanghai. Once Li Tianrong takes a break, Shanghai will completely lack a strong point. At that time, Shanghai may even face the risk of losing at home to the Jiangsu team. Of course, if the Jiangsu team can give Shanghai a huge impact, then Lofton, whose participation is questionable, will definitely step up.
The reason why Shanghai risks forcibly resting the dual core of Lofton and Li Tianrong is basically to conserve energy for the defending champion Liaoning team. Judging from the paper strength, Liaoning, as last season's champion, has won three consecutive championships, and their entire offensive and defensive system is already very mature, so their overall strength is naturally not to be underestimated. With the deepening of the season, Liaoning's foreign aid lineup has gradually taken shape, and the main guard Zhao Jiwei has also returned from injury, which undoubtedly adds to Liaoning's chances of catching up later. In such a context, even if Shanghai defeats the Jiangsu team to achieve a 16-game winning streak, they may not be able to continue the record in front of Liaoning. Therefore, resting Li Tianrong and Lofton in the game against the Jiangsu team and then launching a full-strength attack on Liaoning is undoubtedly the best choice for Shanghai at present.
For Shanghai, only when Li Tianrong and Lofton play to their advantages in their respective positions, coupled with the talents of Li Hongquan, Wang Zhelin, etc., do they have a chance to defeat Liaoning. It is equally difficult to play against Guangsha, the top of the standings, as Liaoning has absolute championship experience and a balanced lineup in all positions. This season, if Shanghai wants to challenge the CBA championship, Liaoning should be the strongest opponent after Guangsha. The current Liaoning team may not be suppressed by Shanghai in the foreign aid aspect, and the lack of Zhang Zhenlin in the domestic lineup may be a huge disadvantage. Therefore, Shanghai can use Li Tianrong's impact to break through Liaoning's flank defense and, with Lofton's dominance, have a chance to overwhelm Liaoning.
In summary, Shanghai can also be considered one of Liaoning's biggest opponents this season. If the defending champion Liaoning team can end Shanghai's winning streak, Yang Ming still has a chance to meet Guangsha in the finals and attempt to complete a four-peat feat.