On January 19th, Beijing time, the 33rd round of the CBA regular season welcomed a focus match, with Liaoning men's basketball team challenging Zhejiang men's basketball team away. This was the second encounter of the season between the two teams. In the first match, Liaoning team defeated their opponents by an 11-point advantage. Tonight, playing away from home indeed brought greater pressure. Despite once leading by 12 points, Liaoning team eventually lost 88-101 to Zhejiang and was reversed by their opponents. Below is a summary of this game and the latest ranking of the points table.
Tonight, Liaoning team's starting lineup was Zhao Jiwei, Fredette, Patton, Yu Zechen, and Li Xiaoxu. Zhejiang team's starting lineup was Lu Wenbo, Yu Jiaxiao, Wang Yibo, Jones, and York. In this game, Liaoning national player Fu Hao missed the game due to a cold, and Yu Zechen entered the starting list. Zhejiang team had their regular starting lineup, and before the game, Zhejiang team's foreign aid Simmons and Liu Zeyi returned.
In the first quarter, after the opening, Liaoning team fell into a slump, with Zhao Jiwei making consecutive three turnovers and being replaced by Wang Lianqin. Li Xiaoxu's layup interference was overlooked by the referee. Subsequently, Fredette scored six points in a row, but Zhejiang team's multiple points bloomed with a wave of 14-6 to stop Liaoning. The game continued with Fredette leading the team to start catching up. With Weber coming off the bench, Liaoning team responded with an 8-0 run to stop Zhejiang. Subsequently, Liaoning team continued to catch up, and after Han Dejun made two free throws, Liaoning trailed by 2 points entering the second quarter, with Liaoning's outside line shooting 1 out of 9 in this quarter.
In the second quarter, Wells started scoring and led the team to overtake, but York suddenly burst into action, scoring 10 points in a row to regain the lead. Liaoning team called a timeout to adjust. The game continued with Wells maintaining his form to help Liaoning overtake again. Then Liaoning team made a 9-0 run to expand the lead to 8 points, and Zhejiang team called a timeout to adjust. Weber hit two three-pointers in a row to help the team take a double-digit lead at one point, but York exploded with 23 points in a single quarter. At halftime, Liaoning team led by 2 points.
After changing sides for the second half, at the beginning of the third quarter, Yan Shouqi suddenly burst into action, scoring 7 points in a row. Subsequently, Liaoning team was blown two offensive fouls in a row, and Cheng Shaipeng and Jones hit two three-pointers in a row to stop Liaoning with the score still at 2 points. The game continued with Liaoning team falling silent, while Zhejiang team hit three-pointers from outside and also lost possession inside. At the end of the third quarter, Liaoning team was overtaken by 8 points. In the final quarter, Wells led the team to make a 6-2 run, and Zhejiang called a timeout. However, Zhejiang team continued to score and maintain the lead. Fredette missed several shots and missed the opportunity to catch up, and Liaoning team finally lost 88-101 to Zhejiang.
So, where did Liaoning team lose in this game? Perhaps, the data will give us the answer!
Liaoning team's starting main players' performance:
Zhao Jiwei played 23 minutes, shooting 2 out of 5, scoring 6 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, and 6 turnovers, with a plus-minus value of -16! He struggled in the first half, with poor offense and continuous turnovers. In the first half, he got 1 rebound, 2 assists, and 4 turnovers, and remained low in the second half.
Patton played 8 minutes, shooting 0 out of 2, getting 1 rebound, with a plus-minus value of -16! He started weakly, with no effect on both offense and defense. In the first half, he got 1 rebound, and was benched in the second half without any performance.
Yu Zechen played 5 minutes, getting 1 rebound, with a plus-minus value of -8! He was replaced after starting for 5 minutes, got 1 rebound in the first half, and had no more playing opportunities afterward.
Fredette played 26 minutes, shooting 8 out of 16, scoring 23 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists, with a plus-minus value of -18, the worst in the team! He was somewhat impetuous on the offensive end, with problematic shot selection. In the first half, he scored 10 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists, and missed several shots in the fourth quarter, delaying the opportunity to catch up.
Li Xiaoxu played 31 minutes, shooting 2 out of 6, scoring 5 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists, with a plus-minus value of -18! He had a good touch in this game, scoring 5 points and 2 rebounds in the first half, but didn't perform much in the second half.
Other substitute players' performance of Liaoning team:
Weber played 25 minutes, shooting 4 out of 9, scoring 10 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block, with a plus-minus value of 5! He succeeded in this game, contributing both offensively and defensively in the first two quarters, and was also the most stable outside shooter in the team. In the first half, he scored 8 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 block, but had few playing opportunities in the second half.
Han Dejun played 28 minutes, shooting 4 out of 7, scoring 10 points, 14 rebounds, and 1 assist, with a plus-minus value of 9! He was very efficient tonight, missing only one shot in the first half. In the first two quarters, he played 10 minutes and scored 8 points and 4 rebounds, and his performance remained good in the second half.
Wang Lianqin played 20 minutes, shooting 1 out of 5, scoring 2 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 turnovers, with a plus-minus value of 3! His performance as a substitute was not effective. In the first half, he got 2 rebounds and 1 turnover, and all his shots missed. His state remained poor in the second half.
Wells played 22 minutes, shooting 7 out of 18, scoring 18 points, 2 rebounds, and 3 assists, with a plus-minus value of 12! He carried the team's offensive firepower at the beginning, scoring 14 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 assist in the first half, but had few opportunities to play in the second half.
Yan Shouqi played 35 minutes, shooting 5 out of 8, scoring 14 points and 2 rebounds, with a plus-minus value of 2! He performed moderately in the first two quarters, scoring 4 points in the first half, and played well in the third quarter of the second half, also scoring in the fourth quarter.
Game review:
Liaoning team started the game very struggling, mainly because they couldn't keep up with the opponent's offensive and defensive pace, coupled with Patton's weak performance in the paint. However, with Weber and Wells joining forces in the second quarter, Liaoning team's attack warmed up and finally regained the lead. In the second half, Liaoning team's offensive and defensive ends collapsed completely, and Yang Min failed to make timely adjustments, ultimately watching their opponents complete a 12-point comeback.
Update on the CBA standings:
With this loss, Liaoning team's record came to 22 wins and 11 losses, ranking 5th. In other matches of the same round, Shandong beat Jiangsu 102-86, Beikong beat Shenzhen 112-102, and Tianjin narrowly beat Ningbo 120-115. The updated CBA standings are as follows.
