Both Down by 1 Point! Guangdong's Buzzer-Beater Against Liaoning is Foiled, Culprit Yang Ming Far Inferior to Du Feng Should Step Down
On January 12th, Beijing time, both Liaoning and Guangdong were down by 1 point in the final moments of their respective games, but the following plays highlighted the biggest difference between the two teams. Yang Ming concedes defeat, truly falling short of Du Feng, and should step down gracefully.
Both Liaoning and Guangdong fought their opponents until the end, but the results of the games were different. Liaoning narrowly lost to Qingdao by 3 points, suffering a dramatic comeback in the final moments, while Guangdong narrowly defeated Beikong with a 1-point buzzer-beater. In fact, during the crucial moments of the game, both teams were only 1 point apart, but when they were both down by 1 point, the differences in the ensuing offensive rounds revealed the distinctions between them.
With 24 seconds left in the game, Liaoning trailed Qingdao 100:101. They called a timeout, but what tactics did they return with? There were no tactics at all, just holding the ball for time and letting Ferg push from the backcourt to the frontcourt before directly taking on the defense himself. What kind of arrangement is this? You don't even need a coach, do you? Isn't it the same tactic for the players to play themselves? After the inbound pass, it was still Ferg pushing the ball all the way, so what's the difference? Everyone knew you were going to play like this.
Sure enough, Ferg's shot missed everything, and Qingdao grabbed the rebound to secure the win. What kind of strategy was that? Even more absurdly, with 2 seconds left, Liaoning, who was already trailing by 3 points, had a chance, but their tactic was to have Han Dejun take a three-pointer. It's unclear how Yang Ming set up the play, but with 2 seconds left and trailing by 3 points, he actually had the center take the shot to tie the game. Who gave him that confidence?
Honestly, these two plays are incomprehensible. Coach, if you set up the game like this, how can you not lose? Giving the shot to someone else might have actually resulted in a three-pointer, but instead, you gave it to the person least likely to make a three-pointer. This is Yang Ming's coaching and tactical ability, which can only elicit sighs. Yang Ming should step down; he completely ruined the good situation.
On the other hand, Guangdong was not the same. They were also down by 1 point in the final moments. With 7.2 seconds left in the game, Zhang Fan made 1 of 2 free throws, leaving Guangdong trailing 97-98. However, Beikong had previously only made one of four free throws, and if they had made just two more, the game would have been over. But Guangdong did not give up.
Ren Junfei then threw the inbound pass directly towards the basket. Although there were still 7 seconds left, you could also hold the ball for time and let the foreign player push from the backcourt, but Du Feng didn't play that way. He lobbed the ball towards the basket, and coupled with Guangdong's precise tactics, they scored two points to lead by 1 point, putting the pressure on you. Let's see how you respond. Sure enough, Beikong's buzzer-beater missed, and Du Feng won the game.
Similarly down by 1 point and with little time remaining, Liaoning was down by 1 point when the foreign player pushed from the backcourt without any setup or tactics, directly taking on the defense, and predictably missed. Guangdong's setup was an out-of-bounds play lobbing towards the basket, and Xu Xin ultimately scored. Similarly down by 1 point, why could Guangdong pull off the buzzer-beater in less time? Why did Liaoning get buzzer-beatered? Yang Ming should step down quickly. He really can't lead this team to a three-peat championship. He has no abilities at all, and his nepotism is holding Liaoning back.