On December 28th, Beijing time, the 23rd round of the CBA regular season continued, with Liaoning defeating Xinjiang 115-89 at home. The trend of the home game was indeed different from pre-match predictions. Surprisingly, despite both teams being short-handed, Liaoning's competitive spirit and desire to win overwhelmed their opponents from the start. Xinjiang seemed caught off-guard and quickly fell behind. After the match, Xinjiang's head coach Liu Wei even admitted that he wanted to learn the secrets from Yang Ming, acknowledging that the weakened Liaoning team had given them a lesson!
The statistics for Liaoning were as follows: Wells scored 50 points with 2 rebounds and 6 assists, Ferg scored 13 points with 4 rebounds and 4 assists, Han Dejun scored 11 points with 13 rebounds and 4 assists, Wang Lanqin scored 20 points with 7 rebounds and 4 assists, and Li Xiaoxu scored 5 points with 7 rebounds. For Xinjiang, Lawson scored 13 points with 12 rebounds, Li Yanzhe scored 9 points with 1 rebound, Ilyfulti scored 13 points with 8 rebounds and 8 assists, and Yang Rui scored 11 points with 2 rebounds.
After the match, Liaoning received three pieces of good news and one piece of bad news. Coach Yang Ming was even moved, stating that this was the strongest display of player execution and desire to win since he took over coaching! Firstly, Yang Ming did listen to advice, giving Wang Lanqin more playing time tonight while benching Yan Shouqi, which turned out to be a brilliant move. Wang Lanqin proved his worth by scoring 20 points with 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals. Compared to Yan Shouqi, who played for only 4 minutes without scoring, it's clear why Wang Lanqin is a national team guard. It's hoped that Coach Yang will continue to make such arrangements in the future, as Wang Lanqin's stable entry into the national team is based on his abilities and justified reasons.
Secondly, the signing of Wells has been a great deal. Although initially brought in as a temporary replacement, he has performed like the top foreign player, scoring 50 points against Guangzhou with five three-pointers in the final quarter against his former team. His key performance tonight, with an impressive 19 out of 11 three-point shooting rate, is reminiscent of the peak performance of former star Hudson. Since joining Liaoning, Wells has been improving steadily; all that remains is ensuring his health so that his firepower can continue to support the team's progress.
The third piece of good news is that Li Huyi is gradually finding his form. Although it was only his second game back, it's evident that Li Huyi has made improvements and efforts. In this match, he showed outside shooting, defense, and well-timed assists to his teammates. As a rising force in Liaoning's backcourt, Li Huyi's gradual improvement is a significant advantage, especially his offensive output, which will be crucial for Liaoning in the future.
However, there was also some bad news after the match. Fu Hao's performance remained poor. Playing nearly 30 minutes, he shot 3 out of 9 for a total of 6 points and 4 rebounds, which is not an ideal efficiency or effect on the court. He doesn't seem to perform like a top-salaried player or a national team forward. This season, Fu Hao only had one breakout game against the weaker opponent Fujian; in other matches, especially against stronger teams, his performance has been inconsistent. This issue does need adjustment and special arrangements going forward, as he is a top-salaried player, and his performance affects the mindset changes of his teammates.
