Last season, many believed that the "post-Easy era" had begun, and young center Xu Xin should have had the opportunity to shine. However, Zhou Qi unexpectedly joined the team. This powerful interior player occupied a lot of playing time, leaving Xu Xin with only scraps of opportunities, never really getting the chance to show his skills. This season, the situation changed again. Zhou Qi went to the Beijing team, and it was originally thought that Xu Xin's opportunity had come. However, the newly arrived Wang Shaojie mainly played at the No. 4 position, and the interior competition remained fierce. Xu Xin still did not get enough playing time, which made the Guangdong fans who were full of expectations very anxious, and they all voiced their grievances for Xu Xin.
As the season progressed, Xu Xin's playing time became scattered. Especially recently, after Bazley returned to the team, the three foreign players of the Guangdong team were all big men, making the interior very crowded, and Xu Xin had even fewer opportunities to play. By the time of this round's match against Shenzhen, the "Guangdong Derby," this local derby carried the expectations of many fans and also had many unknown factors. At a critical moment, Coach Du Feng made an important decision to give Xu Xin a rare opportunity to play, and perhaps this time would be a good opportunity for Xu Xin to change his fate.
The game officially started, and Xu Xin walked onto the court with firm steps, his eyes filled with a burning desire to prove himself. Not long after the start of the game, during an extremely intense interior confrontation, Xu Xin was hit hard by an opponent, causing his chin to split open and blood to gush out. The audience couldn't help but let out a cry of surprise, and his teammates also looked worried. However, Xu Xin simply treated the wound hastily and resolutely returned to the court. His tenacity deeply moved all the fans in the stadium.
In just 18 minutes off the bench, Xu Xin had a big outbreak. On the offensive end, he was incredibly hot, hitting 6 out of 7 shots and easily scoring 12 points. When grabbing rebounds, although his physique was slightly thin, he actively positioned himself, relying on excellent anticipation and jumping ability to fight for 2 key rebounds. On the defensive end, it was his shining moment. Xu Xin, like a guardian angel in the restricted area, leaped high and delivered 3 powerful blocks, repeatedly intercepting the opponent's offense above the rim. After the game, his plus-minus value reached +18, ranking first in the team, undoubtedly becoming one of the pleasant surprises for the Guangdong team in this derby battle.
Looking back, Coach Du Feng's strategy of using players has always been controversial, especially in terms of employing domestic centers. Currently, the domestic centers of the Guangdong team are indeed facing difficulties. Er Fei, a member of the team, has fought for many years and is experienced, but time is merciless. As his age increases, his physical strength and speed have declined, and due to height restrictions, he is gradually feeling the strain in today's increasingly fierce interior confrontations. Although Wang Shaojie was loaned over and possesses certain abilities, there are problems with his tactical adaptation. In playing positional warfare, his style of being a No. 4 position height but playing like a No. 5 position is difficult to fully exert within the Guangdong team system, and his contributions have significantly decreased.
So far this season, Xu Xin of the Guangdong team has played 18 games, averaging only 9.2 minutes per game. In such limited time, his statistics initially seem unimpressive, averaging just 3.9 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks. But if converted into per 36 minutes data, the situation is completely different. After conversion, he can score 15.5 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 4.4 blocks per 36 minutes. In terms of average rebounds per 36 minutes, he ranks just behind the team's two major foreign players, Bazley and Morand; when it comes to average blocks, he far exceeds others, with many more than Bazley (who averages 2.8 blocks per 36 minutes).
After Yi Jianlian's retirement and Zhou Qi's departure, the weaknesses of the Guangdong team's domestic centers have become increasingly apparent. Although foreign players can temporarily alleviate the urgent situation, in the long run, Morand will also experience a decline in form due to increasing age, and in a few years, the team will definitely need to find new excellent interior players. Moreover, Er Fei is not far from retirement, and the team urgently needs new talent to carry on the legacy of the interior. At this time, Coach Du Feng should really give Xu Xin more opportunities to play and exercise so that he can continuously hone and accumulate experience in actual games. Perhaps this young player can grow well, take on the heavy responsibility of the Guangdong team's restricted area, and continue to write the glorious chapter of the team's interior.
On the CBA fan forum, this game and Xu Xin's performance quickly became a hot topic. Many people greatly admired Xu Xin's spirit of continuing to fight despite being bloodied on the court, and they analyzed frame by frame his wonderful block moments. At the same time, some people questioned Du Feng's previous employment strategy and engaged in a heated discussion about the cultivation of domestic centers. Additionally, some people speculated about the layout of the Guangdong team's interior based on Xu Xin's potential shown by his data, and the topic's popularity continued to rise, with everyone indulging in this feast of basketball topics.