Last night, Xinjiang Men's Basketball Team suffered another upset defeat. After unexpectedly losing to Fujian, who ranked last in the previous round, they lost again to Nanjing Tongxi, who were also ranked lower. The loss was very regrettable and should not have happened. Liu Wei summarized the game very briefly, saying that they had prepared for difficulties, but did not expect them to be so great.
In fact, the Xinjiang team, playing away from home, did not perform badly. They drew with Tongxi in the first half, with a score of 58 each. By the third quarter, Xinjiang only lost by one point, keeping the suspense alive. The fourth quarter was fiercely contested, with too many mistakes made, ultimately losing by 6 points and suffering their second consecutive defeat.
This game was very strange for the Xinjiang team. Their shooting percentage and three-point percentage were both higher than their opponents, they won 4 more rebounds, and had more shots throughout the game. However, they made 4 more turnovers than their opponents. Where exactly did Xinjiang lose? A careful look at the data reveals that they lost on free throws, not only taking 12 fewer attempts than Tongxi, but also having a lower free throw percentage, losing 12 points just from free throws alone.
Even with the free throw losses, if the Xinjiang players could manage their emotions better and play with more focus and calmness, they could have easily defeated Tongxi. Unfortunately, their toxic player ruined the game. This toxic player is Qi Lin, a seemingly civilized young player who has been like a different person this season, becoming very impulsive on the court with poor emotional control. In the latter part of the second quarter, Qi Lin was called for a defensive foul while defending Guo Haowen's breakthrough. He appeared agitated with the call, expressing his dissatisfaction by throwing a punch and rushing up to complain angrily to the referee. Unable to control his emotions, he was given two technical fouls in a row by the referee and was directly ejected from the game, causing Xinjiang to automatically reduce their numbers. If Qi Lin had managed his emotions well, he could have continued playing, not just for 24 minutes, but for longer. If he could have played normally, it would have been possible to win. However, impulsiveness is the devil, and the harm he brought to the team was significant.
After being ejected, Qi Lin updated his social media to indirectly criticize the No. 39 referee. Not long ago, during a match against Shanxi, although the incident had nothing to do with him, he got involved in a verbal altercation with Goodwin and even engaged in mutual shoving, resulting in multiple suspensions and fines. Last night, he became impulsive again, provoking the referee and was directly ejected. It's not wrong to say he's a cancer and a ticking time bomb, nor is it wrong to say he ruined the game. More seriously, after being ejected, he updated his social media to indirectly criticize the referee, which may result in additional penalties. What are your thoughts on Qi Lin?
