On January 18th, the CBA regular season continues with three matches to be played, including Fujian against Guangdong, Guangsha against Sichuan, and Xinjiang against Guangzhou. These are all games where the teams have significant differences in strength, so the suspense of victory or defeat is not very high. However, there are some points of interest worth paying attention to, and I will give you a brief pre-game analysis.
Playing away at Fujian is not difficult for Guangdong, although the opponent has made progress recently. As a foreign coach, Kaiser has something to offer; he has coached many CBA teams and still has prestige. However, it is not easy to quickly improve, especially since Fujian has structural problems.
Fans mainly focus on Guangdong's performance. In fact, Du Feng's hand hasn't improved much, but they have managed to win seven consecutive victories. The team's core is still Xu Jie, while other perimeter players are just support. It relies on Du Feng's supervision to ensure that players like Huang Rongqi and Zhang Wenyi fulfill their duties, especially in defense.
The interior has improved compared to before, with at least Morand's defense and Jilunwate's offense being relatively stable. Additionally, the young Xu Xin has made progress; his personal talent is quite good. If he can improve his physical strength and experience, he could be a gem.
On the Fujian side, they rely on foreign aid, and several local players also show good fighting spirit, including Li Yiyang, Zou Yang, etc. However, many substitutes, such as Qiu Tian, are indeed lacking, and they have always had weak defense, making it difficult to bounce back from the bottom. Although they are both CBA weak teams, Fujian's prospects are not as good as those of Sichuan, Jiangsu, etc., and they simply cannot bring any surprises.
Guangsha's home game against Sichuan will be quite relaxed, as the gap in strength between the two teams is too large. Guangsha has been increasingly looking like champions recently, with excellent results and a long-term hold on the top spot, pulling away from their opponents. On the other hand, Guangsha has solved the problem of personnel rotation, gaining useful substitutes, and their domestic core no longer fears physical exhaustion. As long as players like Sun Minghui and Hu Jinqiu remain healthy in the playoffs, Guangsha will be very formidable.
Guangsha has had the opportunity to win championships for more than a year or two, but it has always been due to injuries. Now that this problem has been resolved, not only is this season the top favorite to win the championship, but this trend will continue for many years to come. Just like when Guangdong and Liaoning revived, once they break through a layer of window paper, the number of championships will continue to rise.
Guangsha's match against Sichuan is more of a formality, somewhat like training, trying to polish the lineup and smoothly complete the second stage, as there are not many games left from the previous year.
Xinjiang against Guangzhou is also a one-sided game, but there are points of interest, mainly because Guo Ailun returned in the last game and will definitely continue playing until the end of the second stage. His encounter with old teammate Zhao Rui is worth the attention of fans.
Zhao Rui has also missed a lot of time this season due to injuries, illness, or a five-game suspension for colliding with a referee; Guo Ailun has also been a long-term patient. In the past period of Liaoning-Guangdong rivalry, the two were direct opponents on the guard line, but now one has gained weight and the other has slowed down, giving a sense of things being different.
Of course, Zhao Rui's condition is still better, after all, he is younger, and he won't find it as strenuous to defend against Guo Ailun as he did in the past. Guo Ailun's style of play has also changed, focusing more on passing than attacking, striving to create opportunities for his teammates, and his skills in breaking through have seriously declined.
Xinjiang needs to win more games to return to the top four, and they will certainly not be polite when facing Guangzhou.