The CBA league has seen a significant change in its landscape this season, with many teams possessing the potential to compete for the championship. Besides Liaoning Men's Basketball Team, Guangsha and Shanxi have shown remarkable strength, while Beijing Team is widely optimistic due to the acquisition of Zhou Qi. Naturally, Xinjiang Team is among the top contenders, having reached the finals last season and maintaining an impressive record this year, often occupying one of the top four positions. Coach Liu Wei has done an excellent job in training the team.
Over the summer, Xinjiang Team experienced some changes, notably the departure of several guards, including Yu Dehao, Huang Rongqi, and Tang Caiyu. In response, the management did not make any significant new signings but instead opted to cultivate talent from within the organization, which has proven to be quite effective. Young players like Ilyas Fulaati and Xierzati have become stable rotational players on the perimeter and are gradually taking on more responsibility.
Xinjiang Team holds a unique position in the CBA, being the sole guardian of the northwest frontier. Over the past decade, they have continuously brought in outstanding local players. However, there is no shortage of local talent, such as Hu Jinqiu, Ding Yanhang, and Hu Mingxuan, all of whom came from Xinjiang Team. Going further back, there were also A Di Jiang and Du Feng.
Among the local ethnic minority players, most have grown up through Xinjiang Team. Familiar names include Ke Lan Baike and Xi Rili Jiang, and currently, Abudu Salamu has been the captain for many years. Among the younger generation, the local players are undoubtedly Ilyas Fulaati, Xierzati, and the accurate mid-range shooter, Aizimaiti.
This season, Ilyas Fulaati averages 22.4 minutes per game, scoring 8.8 points, grabbing 3.5 rebounds, and dishing out 2.1 assists; Xierzati averages 21.2 minutes per game, scoring 7.3 points, grabbing 2 rebounds, and dishing out 1.6 assists. Both are post-00s players, with Ilyas born in 2000 and Xierzati in 2001, just entering their professional prime and expected to continue improving.
The shortcoming of Xinjiang Team's guards is not a recent issue; they lost the 2019 final due to weaknesses in the backcourt. Following Zhou Qi's return, there was also a lack of good passers, necessitating the aging Zeng Lingxu to take on the role of main playmaker. In recent years, Xinjiang Team brought in Yu Dehao and Huang Rongqi, whose abilities are well-known; they can serve as substitutes, but they fall short when it comes to being core guards.
Fortunately, in 2023, Xinjiang Team traded Zhou Qi for Zhao Rui, finally securing their own top-tier starting guard. Regrettably, Zhao Rui has been plagued by injuries and has had an inconsistent playing schedule.
The loss of three guards over the summer left many puzzled, thinking that the championship goal would need to be adjusted. However, it now appears that the decision was correct, as Ilyas Fulaati and Xierzati are ready to shoulder the burden. One of their strengths is their height, both over 1.9 meters, allowing them to hold their own defensively without much disadvantage, and Ilyas can even fill in at the forward position.
With the current foreign player policy largely relaxed, each team has a foreign guard as the main playmaker. Xinjiang Team has Peterson, along with Zhao Rui, and the bench is filled by two local players, Ilyas Fulaati and Xierzati. This combination is more than sufficient. Of course, young players need to undergo more baptism in the playoffs, so let's see how they perform towards the end of this season.