On January 21st, Beijing time, the CBA "Spring Festival Battle" reached a climax as Guangdong Hongyuan prepared to face the dark horse of the league, Shanghai Males, in an away game on Wednesday. Guangdong, who had recently won nine consecutive victories and were in excellent form, aimed to complete their revenge. However, Shanghai was no pushover; they had only lost three games throughout the second stage and had previously defeated Guangdong by a significant margin of 33 points. Facing Guangdong, Shanghai undoubtedly held a psychological advantage. It is worth noting that CCTV would not broadcast this highly anticipated match but instead chose to nationally broadcast another game between Shanxi and Nanjing.
Undoubtedly, for Guangdong to win this game, they must restrict Shanghai's shooters. Given Guangdong's defensive capabilities, it is unrealistic to completely shut down Lofton; instead, they should focus on reducing the effectiveness of shooters like Li Hongquan and Li Tianrong. Lofton's influence on the game is akin to Jokic in the CBA, and Guangdong must cut off the connection between Lofton and Shanghai's shooters. They are willing to let Lofton take them on single-handedly rather than allow Shanghai's three-point shooters to become active. Of course, on top of solid defense, Guangdong's own shooters must also be resolute in shooting three-pointers and making them. To win against Shanghai, they cannot solely rely on defense; they must score more points than their opponents!
Furthermore, for Guangdong to secure victory, the key lies in adequately preparing for the defensive strategies that Xu Jie will face. At present, Guangdong relies solely on Xu Jie as their ball-handler initiator. Looking at previous games where Guangdong suffered losses, it became clear that neutralizing Xu Jie could lead to victory over Guangdong. Shanghai possesses what may be the most abundant backcourt defensive resources in the entire league. Li Hongquan and Li Tianrong are both full-sized wing defenders, while Liu Zheng is one of the top backcourt defenders in the league. Small foreign player Bledsoe is a rare defensive powerhouse in the CBA, and with the relentless pressure from Luo Hanchen and Xie Liyongwei, Xu Jie will face an extremely challenging matchup. If Xu Jie can maintain his composure despite such high-intensity and fierce defense, unaffected in both personal offense and passing organization, then given Guangdong's current state, victory is still very much within reach.
Before the game, Du Feng revealed the "secret" behind the team's nine consecutive victories, which essentially boils down to everyone knowing their roles and contributions within the team, with morale and confidence growing stronger. For Du Feng, this game is a must-win, even if it means issuing a military order, because whether Guangdong can return to the top four hinges on the outcome of this match. A victory would make the third stage easier for Guangdong and secure a better position in the final regular-season standings. However, a loss would effectively signal the end of Guangdong's season in the top four.
