On January 20th (Monday) at 19:35, in the 33rd round of the 2024/25 CBA regular season, Beijing BAIC, who has been in poor form recently, will host the league leaders, Zhejiang Fangxingdu.
This is the second meeting between the two teams this season. Previously, in the 28th round, Beijing BAIC lost 89-93 to Zhejiang Fangxingdu on the road. Looking at the historical data, in a total of 53 encounters, Beijing team has a slight advantage with 27 wins and 26 losses. From another perspective, this indicates that both sides are evenly matched in terms of overall strength. Last season, the two teams met four times, each winning two games.
After 32 rounds, Beijing team ranks 9th in the standings with a record of 20 wins and 11 losses, accumulating 51 points. Zhejiang Fangxingdu, on the other hand, tops the table with 28 wins and 4 losses, accumulating 60 points. Compared to last season, Beijing team has basically maintained its position in the playoff zone, while Zhejiang Fangxingdu has made significant progress, not only rising to the top four but also leading the league strongly.
Looking at recent trends, Beijing team has been in poor form, losing 102-129 to Beijing Holdings at home and suffering defeat in the Beijing derby; in the previous round, they lost 89-99 to Qingdao Guoxin Pharmaceutical on the road. Coincidentally, the recent four defeats out of five matches started with consecutive losses to the two Zhejiang teams, with the first loss being against Zhejiang Fangxingdu. In this context, Beijing team, returning home, is eager to return to the path of victory.
Zhejiang Fangxingdu, after defeating Sichuan Fenggu Liquor 115-99 at home in the previous round, has now achieved a nine-game winning streak, which is also their longest winning streak this season. Among the opponents they have defeated are derby rivals Zhejiang Chouzhou Financial Leasing, the Beijing duo, defending champions Liaoning Bensteel, as well as Shanxi Fenjiu, currently ranked second in the standings, etc., with very high quality victories. Facing Beijing team again, it is believed that they have set their sights on a ten-game winning streak.
In terms of lineup, Beijing team is still facing personnel issues due to injuries to players like Chen Yingjun. Zhou Qi, who recently had a cold, returned in the previous round against Qingdao but only played half a game before being sent off early in the second half for accumulating technical fouls due to dissatisfaction with the referee's decision, and may face additional penalties. If Zhou Qi is unable to participate in the match against Zhejiang Fangxingdu, Beijing team, which is already at a disadvantage in the paint, will face even more difficulties.
During this special period, foreign players like Jermaine, Omore, Solomon, as well as domestic players such as Fang Shuo, Zhai Xiaochuan, Fan Ziming, Zhang Cairen, etc., need to take on more offensive and defensive responsibilities, striving to use the advantages of team basketball to make up for the lack of personnel in individual positions. Additionally, the whole team needs to improve their free throw accuracy. The reason for the loss to Qingdao in the previous game was the low free throw accuracy of only 48.3%, resulting in a loss of 15 points from free throws alone. It is estimated that head coach Xu Limin will also have the players practice free throws more.
In contrast, Zhejiang Fangxingdu has a complete and well-performing lineup, especially the double core of Hu Jinqiu and Sun Minghui, who refreshed their personal scoring and assist milestone statistics in the previous round. Among them, Hu Jinqiu has scored 8390 points in his CBA career, ranking 12th in the scoring list, while Sun Minghui has advanced to 6th in the CBA's all-time assist list. Whenever these two play together, they often cause a lot of trouble for their opponents.
Moreover, foreign player Brown can score inside and outside, and add free throws, with a comprehensive scoring ability, averaging 27.4 points and hitting 4 three-pointers.
With these three stable scoring points, if foreign player Knight and domestic players like Zhu Junlong, Zhao Jia ren, etc., are also in good form, then Zhejiang Fangxingdu's offensive and defensive capabilities are indeed strong.
So, how will this game unfold specifically? Let's wait and see. According to the latest schedule from CCTV, CCTV Sports Channel (CCTV5) will focus on live broadcasting this match starting at 19:30 on January 20th.