Guangdong Team Continues Winning Streak with a Thrilling Victory Over Guangzhou
After defeating Guangzhou Long Lions, Guangdong Team has extended their longest winning streak of the season to seven games. However, this victory was hard-fought and more challenging than their previous two wins against Qingdao and Beikong. In the first half, Guangdong found themselves trailing by 19 points after being unexpectedly outscored 48-29.
In the third quarter, Guangdong Team woke up from their slumber, responding with a 33-11 run. They shot 12 out of 20 from the field and 4 out of 10 from beyond the arc, scoring a total of 33 points, which surpassed their first-half total. By the end of the third quarter, they had completed the comeback and taken the lead over Guangzhou.
Notably, Guangdong managed to erase the 19-point deficit in less than six minutes. Led by Xu Jie, Jilunwote, and Er Fei, the team scored 22 points in just 5 minutes and 48 seconds, successfully overtaking their opponents. It seems that a 20-point lead is nothing but a fart in basketball.
Despite the win, there are still areas for Guangdong Team to reflect upon:
Firstly, Xu Jie continues to struggle to get rest when facing "weaker" opponents. He played for 45 and a half minutes, scoring 18 points, grabbing 7 rebounds, and dishing out 6 assists. However, he appeared exhausted, especially considering his poor performance in the first half. He scored no points, had no rebounds or assists in the first quarter, and only managed to score 6 points with 1 rebound and 1 assist in the second quarter. It was during this time that Guangdong was forced into their worst half of the season by Guangzhou Long Lions, with the team shooting only 10 out of 40 and making only 5 out of 25 three-point attempts, scoring a mere 29 points in total and allowing the opponents to create 11 turnovers.
Secondly, Guangdong cannot afford to be complacent or underestimate their opponents. It can be inferred that the team may have rested too much, having had three consecutive days off, which could have led to tactical underestimation. Fortunately, adjustments were made in the second half, and Guangzhou was not strong enough to maintain their intensity throughout the game. They lacked depth in their roster, had a low frontcourt, and experienced greater physical exhaustion. Additionally, their foreign players and Guo Ailun were not as sharp, which allowed Guangdong to stage a remarkable comeback.
Thirdly, there are significant issues with the two forwards, Du Runwang and Beizili. Du Runwang started the game but was benched by Du Feng after only two minutes in the first quarter. He did not return until the fourth quarter, having sat out for almost two quarters plus an additional ten minutes. In his limited six minutes on the court, Du Runwang scored only 2 points, posed no threat from the outside, and was repeatedly bypassed defensively by the opposing foreign players, becoming a liability.
Beizili also faced problems, scoring only 3 points and grabbing 5 rebounds in 16 minutes, going 1 out of 6 from the field. His mindset seemed to be off, as evidenced by a moment in the third quarter where he appeared preoccupied. Towards the end of the quarter, Beizili wanted to take on the opponent one-on-one, but Xu Jie approached to take control of the ball and organize the offense. Beizili reluctantly passed the ball to Xu Jie and sulkily went to the corner. Despite the final shot being given to Beizili, he missed it badly under pressure from the opponent, feeling extremely downcast.
Why would Beizili be so unhappy? It might have something to do with Xu Xin's absence.
In the second half of the previous two games against Qingdao and Beikong, Beizili and Xu Xin often played together, complementing each other and contributing to many impressive offensive and defensive plays for Guangdong in the latter part of the third quarter and the early part of the fourth quarter. However, in this game, Du Feng adjusted his strategy and did not allow Beizili to play alongside Xu Xin for an extended period, which to some extent diminished Beizili's initiative.
In fact, Beizili does not pair well with Xu Jie. Unlike the older veterans, Beizili lacks low-post skills and cannot execute pick-and-roll plays with Xu Jie. From Du Feng's tactical arrangement of having Beizili stay in the paint during set plays, it can be inferred that in this game, Du Feng treated Beizili as a substitute for Du Runwang, which made Beizili unhappy.
The question arises again: Since the combination of Xu Xin and Beizili proved effective in the previous two rounds, why didn't Du Feng use Xu Xin as a trump card like before?
In fact, Du Feng did give Xu Xin a chance earlier in the second quarter when Guangdong was trailing by 6 points. He became impatient and brought Xu Xin in early, hoping to replicate the successful third-quarter strategy from the games against Qingdao and Beikong. However, after playing for only 4 minutes and 24 seconds, Xu Xin was benched by Du Feng. When Xu Xin entered the game, Guangdong was down by 6 points, but by the time he was substituted, the deficit had increased to 11 points, with Guangdong being outscored 9-4 by Guangzhou.
During his brief stint on the court, Xu Xin shot 1 out of 2, scoring 2 points and grabbing 3 rebounds, with a decent usage rate. However, he made a mistake that angered Du Feng. Shortly after entering the game, Xu Xin received an alley-oop pass from Xu Jie and Gigi King, and he dunked it with excitement, pointing towards the Guangdong bench to celebrate. At that moment, Guangdong was trailing, and there was nothing for Xu Xin to celebrate. He still needed to learn from Xu Jie.
In the next possession, an overconfident Xu Xin was immediately countered by the opponent's big man, and unfortunately, he triggered one of Du Feng's pet peeves by jumping prematurely, exposing a flaw that allowed Crawford to score an easy hook shot.
This scene was captured by Guan Xin, a seasoned reporter who has been following the Guangdong team. He quickly posted a message: "Xu Xin comes in with a powerful dunk, and Du Feng nods in approval. But then, a rash jump on defense angers Du Feng: 'Jump your head off!'"
This incident likely contributed to Xu Xin's benching for the remainder of the game. Although he had previously completed a clutch shot against Beikong and trended on social media, Xu Xin had apparently become too confident in recent days, forgetting the defensive details instructed by Coach Du and crossing a line with Du Feng. After being scolded by Du Feng, Xu Xin missed two free throws and failed to convert an easy basket, further disappointing Du Feng and leading to his benching.
From another perspective, this game did not suit Xu Xin's characteristics. Guangzhou had only one player of significant height, Crawford, but due to their lack of depth in the backcourt, Crawford's playing time was limited. Guangzhou primarily relied on a small-ball lineup focused on fast breaks and transition offense, with no one stationed in the paint during set plays. Xu Xin did not provide strong defensive containment, and after trying out Ren Junfei, Wang Shaojie, and Xu Xin in rotation, Du Feng found that Ren Junfei and Wang Shaojie were more suitable for the game's characteristics. They were tall enough and mobile, with one able to assist Xu Jie in organizing the offense and the other helping Jilunwote with defense, matching the intensity of the fast-paced game. In contrast, Du Runwang with his old legs and Xu Xin, who jumps at every opportunity, were not as suitable for this type of game.