CBA Rankings Change! Shandong Rises to 2nd, Two Strong Teams Start to Drop the Ball, Guangdong Could Enter Top 4
On January 22nd, Beijing time, with the conclusion of all matches in the 34th round of the CBA, a significant change has occurred in the latest rankings. Among them, Shandong Team, who defeated Ningbo Team 112-102 at home, once again surpassed Shanxi Team and returned to second place. The victory in this match for Shandong Team was quite interesting, as the three foreign players from Ningbo Team combined for a total of 88 points, while the remaining domestic players only scored 14 points. It can be seen that this match for Shandong Team was more like a contest against pure foreign players.
Among them, Ningbo's foreign player Ma Qi personally scored an astonishing 60 points, becoming the first player in the CBA this season to score over 60 points. However, basketball is a team sport, and as the saying goes, "One cannot defeat four with two fists." Despite Ma Qi's explosive 60-point performance, it was not enough to stop Shandong Team from winning. After the game, Shandong Team's head coach Qiu Biao also gave special praise to Ningbo Team's Ma Qi!
Qiu Biao stated, "I often say that one must guard against uncertain factors in basketball games. A foreign player scoring 60 points is an uncertain factor; he made many difficult shots. Fortunately, our defense was excellent. As for why Gao Shiyan did not play, Qiu Biao explained that it was to protect the player, who will rest and adjust for two days before facing Beikong."
Under the leadership of Qiu Biao this season, Shandong Team has indeed played exceptionally well and brilliantly. This demonstrates the importance of an excellent head coach to a team. Despite not having big-name players like Zhou Qi, it does not hinder Shandong Team from ranking second.
Compared to Shandong Team, after the halfway point of the CBA season, two strong teams have started to falter. They are Beijing Team and Liaoning Team.
Beijing Team's recent form has been very poor, losing five out of six games. Even after Zhou Qi's return, they suffered two consecutive defeats, which were not enough to save the team. Judging from Xu Limin's lineup arrangements, Beijing Men's Basketball Team lost their last two games due to their own reasons.
In the previous round, Zhou Qi only played two quarters upon his return before being ejected; in this round, Beijing Team was only one point behind Guangsha Team in the final 26 seconds and had possession of the ball. However, Xu Limin specifically brought on Fang Shuo to serve, who then made a serving error, handing the victory over to Guangsha. Beijing Men's Basketball Team has now fallen to ninth place. They have even lost the home advantage in the first round of the playoffs!
Furthermore, defending champion Liaoning Team's form is not good either. Zhang Zhenlin's absence led to consecutive losses against Zhejiang and Qingdao, making their disadvantages in the frontcourt and wing positions against strong teams very apparent. Currently, Liaoning Team's record has slipped to 22 wins and 11 losses, dropping to seventh place!
Meanwhile, Guangdong Team led by Du Feng has exploded in the second half of the season. Relying on their strong adjustment capabilities and outstanding performances by players like Xu Jie, they have won nine consecutive victories, improving their record to 22 wins and 11 losses. Currently, Guangdong Team's ranking has reached fifth in the league!
Guangdong Team's biggest advantage now is Du Feng's rich coaching experience. After winning nine consecutive victories, the team's momentum and desire to win are both strong. Given Du Feng's character, taking advantage of the momentum to lead Guangdong into the top four might just be his goal. Guangdong Men's Basketball Team's rise will also bring certain pressure to Zhejiang and Shanxi ahead of them.