Due to the situation with Morand and Huang Rongqi, Du Feng had no choice but to use new players. In previous games, Zhang Haojia and Zhang Mingchi did not play much. Du Feng replaced Huang Rongqi with Zhang Haojia and substituted Morand with Zhang Mingchi, both moves were out of necessity. Both Lao Mo and the top-ranked player were plagued by fouls, forcing them to be taken off the court in a timely manner.
After Zhang Haojia came on, Guangdong's nightmare began. He continuously committed unnecessary fouls and made frequent mistakes on the offensive end. Due to his slow movement speed, Guangdong's fast-break rhythm was disrupted after he entered the game. Once the speed slowed down, the team completely lost its advantage. The initial three-point shots failed to knock down the opponent, leading to subsequent positional battles.
Morand had to face the impact of Lofton and Wang Zhelin, and after consuming a huge amount of energy in the previous two games, he clearly appeared powerless in this match. Zhang Haojia, who came on the court, could not tear into the opponent's ball-handler like Huang Rongqi. He seemed completely clueless about what to do on the court, looking dazed, which led to frequent instances of missing his mark.
This also affected Lao Mo's emotions. Frustrated by his teammates' poor performance, he appeared very depressed. Replacing Huang Rongqi with Zhang Haojia became the first turning point of the game. In fact, from the second quarter onwards, with Morand's departure, Guangdong's fate was already sealed. Du Feng sent on Zhang Mingchi.
After he came on, whether facing Wang Zhelin, Lofton, or Li Hongquan, he could not hold his ground against any of them, resulting in continuous fouls. Together with Zhang Haojia, they committed a total of 10 fouls. After the game, Zhang Haojia received a rating of 2.5, indicating that his value for development is not high, and Guangdong might consider letting him go.
Over the years, Coach Du has invested more effort into Zhang Haojia than any other player. Despite receiving a lot of playing time, he has shown no progress. A player lacking in on-court intuition will remain the same no matter how much time is given for training. Zhang Mingchi faces the same issue, with a post-game rating of 4.5.
During the previous two consecutive victories, they had ample rest time. However, judging from their on-court performance, they resembled players who had played over 40 minutes each game. Their legs felt as if weighted down with lead, unable to run at all. Such performances are very disappointing. The two new players were in the same physical condition as veterans nearing retirement.
Guangdong has clearly encountered problems in talent cultivation in recent seasons. After Xu Jie and Du Runwang were promoted to the first team, the club has not produced any notable talents for five consecutive seasons. The current better-performing players within the team, Zhang Wenyi and Huang Rongqi, were both acquired by Zhu Fangyu through opportunistic signings. If these "big sweet potatoes" continue to fail to deliver despite being given opportunities, Guangdong should consider a major overhaul, searching for reliable role players in the free market during the offseason to strengthen the bench!