This season, the CBA league has increased the turnover of foreign players, allowing teams to register up to 4 foreign players and changing the foreign player rule to 4 quarters with 7 rotations. Teams have started an arms race, introducing capable foreign players, including those who have played in the NBA, European leagues, and development leagues. Up to now, a total of 36 foreign players have been cut, mostly due to unsuitability for their respective teams, and a few due to injuries. The regular season has only completed 30 rounds, with 16 more to go. It is expected that more foreign players will be cut in the future, while new ones will also join.
Recently, Jiangsu Kedeya canceled the registration of foreign player Tequiven Smith, and Zhejiang Chouzhou Jinzu canceled the registration of foreign player Paris Bass.
Jiangsu team currently has three foreign players: Jackson, Goodwin, and Thompson. Goodwin is the core of the team, and Smith, who only played 10 games for the team, averaged 28 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals per game, which are the statistics of a super foreign player. He can score, grab rebounds, assist teammates, and fight for the ball to win offensive opportunities for the team. Jiangsu's record is 5 wins and 25 losses, making it unlikely for them to advance to the playoffs. Yi Li is still focusing on training young players. Tonight, they face the strong Xinjiang team, where their provincial brothers, Tongxi, have already defeated Xinjiang. Let's see how Yi Li deploys his troops and how they will compete against Xinjiang.
Zhejiang Chouzhou narrowly lost to Zhejiang Guangsha 98-102. Chouzhou played well for three quarters, with Wang Shilong rotating 7 players throughout the game. This provincial derby attracted attention, but he dared not use young players at all. This led to the main players' physical exhaustion in the last quarter. York played for 42 minutes and scored 33 points, 4 rebounds, and 6 assists. Jones got a double-double with 17 points and 18 rebounds.
Zhejiang Chouzhou is not a team that relies on foreign players; they have many excellent domestic players. The cut foreign player, Paris Bass, averaged 17.2 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 4 assists. With Bass, Yu Jiahao, and Jones forming the frontcourt, they could say they were not afraid of any team's frontcourt.
Now is the critical moment to push for the playoffs. If Zhejiang wants to enter the top 4, they cannot afford to lose any game. The next strong matchup against Shandong is crucial to determine whether they can stay in the top 4. This season, Shandong has beaten Zhejiang, so if Zhejiang loses again, they will be at an absolute disadvantage in the two teams' head-to-head encounters, making the future top 4 competition unpredictable.
