The second stage of the CBA regular season's 31st round is in full swing, with a fierce battle between traditional powerhouse Guangdong Men's Basketball and their local rivals, Guangzhou Men's Basketball. After four quarters of intense competition, the visiting Guangdong team managed to reverse a 19-point deficit and defeat Guangzhou 85-77, achieving their longest winning streak this season at seven games. Notably, Guangdong was trailing by nearly 20 points at halftime but managed to overtake in the third quarter under the leadership of Xu Jie, Ren Junfei, and Jermaine Taylor. In the decisive moments, Du Feng used Wang Shaojie as a trump card to lock down Guangzhou, helping Guangdong secure a hard-fought victory.
For Guangdong, while they have many capable players in their frontcourt, Du Feng prefers targeted use of various rotation starters. Through the individual abilities of Xu Jie, Jermaine Taylor, and Ren Junfei, Guangdong overtook in just half a quarter of the third game. However, Guangzhou relied on their foreign players' individual abilities to retake the lead in the final quarter. When Guangdong was in a passive position, Du Feng used Wang Shaojie to great effect. Wang Shaojie contributed key blocks on defense and locked down Guangzhou's scoring in the final moments. After securing two crucial rebounds, Guangdong converted them into points to seal the victory.
In the final moments, Guangdong benched Morand and ousted Xu Xin from the center position, promoting Wang Shaojie to achieve a good chemical reaction. It is clear that Guangdong's frontcourt tactical system has clear divisions when facing teams like Guangzhou and Tianjin without top-tier centers. Wang Shaojie's mobility and defensive positioning ability make him the best choice for Guangdong, especially against local centers like Li Xiangbo from Guangzhou who can stretch the floor. Wang Shaojie is indeed a better option for Guangdong than Xu Xin or Morand. Morand's offensive performance has been poor, and he could not replace Jermaine Taylor as the first-choice foreign player in the decisive moments.
In the future, Guangdong may lean more towards promoting Wang Shaojie in the single foreign player tactical system in the fourth quarter. As for Xu Xin, he may be used more as the third center after Morand and Wang Shaojie. Of course, Guangdong already has plans to rebuild their frontcourt. Before the third stage of the regular season and the playoffs, Zhang Mingchi and Zhang Hao have basically fallen out of the rotation lineup. Looking at the importance of the remaining three centers, Du Feng may prefer to use Morand and Wang Shaojie before Xu Xin. Since only one foreign player can be used in the decisive moments of the fourth quarter, it is very likely that Wang Shaojie will be heavily relied upon.
It must be said that Guangdong has now achieved an impressive seven-game winning streak, with a high possibility of making the playoffs and even challenging for the top four. Head coach Du Feng must consider the configuration and rotation tactics of Guangdong's frontcourt personnel in the future to maximize their chemistry, thereby compensating for the lack of a qualified small foreign player and showcasing championship-level dominance.