On the evening of the 30th, Guangdong will challenge Liaoning away from home, and every Liaoning-Guangdong battle is always full of topics. Today, according to official statistics from the CBA, this is the 100th Liaoning-Guangdong battle, which is also the most frequent matchup between two teams.
Unlike in the past, the current Liaoning and Guangdong are both similar yet very different.
What's similar is that the domestic lineup of the two teams hasn't changed much. The main guards Zhao Jiwei and Hu Mingxuan are both out due to injuries. Liaoning has brought in Wang Lanqin, while Guangdong has brought in Huang Rongqi, with little change in other players. Looking at their rankings now, there's a bit of a "hard brothers" feel, with Liaoning ranked fifth in the league and Guangdong ninth. Neither of these traditional powerhouses has entered the top four, which is rare in the past.
What's different is the current dilemma of foreign players. Liaoning only has two foreign players, both small forwards, while Guangdong is the opposite, with all three foreign players being big forwards (Lars can be ignored as he plays only one minute per game). Therefore, the first major highlight of today's game is whether Guangdong's inside defense or Liaoning's outside offense is stronger.
In the previous game against Xinjiang, Liaoning's two small foreign players performed exceptionally well, especially Wells, who scored an impressive 50 points. Today, facing Morand, who is both offensive and defensive and knows Liaoning well, can Wells continue his performance? And Jilun Walters, the core of Guangdong's inside offense, will face Han Dejun. In terms of height, weight, or experience, Han Dejun is no worse than Jilun. Therefore, whether Jilun can still perform outstandingly against Han Dejun is also the key to Guangdong's victory.
In the pre-game interview, Morand expressed his happiness at returning to Liaoning, while Yang Ming thanked Morand for his contributions but said he was not happy as an opponent. The Liaoning-Guangdong battles never lack topics, but ultimately, it all comes down to the court. It remains to be seen which team will come out on top tonight.