In the CBA regular season, a major event took place as Liaoning faced Guangdong in what marked the 100th match between the two teams in CBA history. This was also the first matchup between the two sides to reach triple digits. In the previous 99 encounters, Liaoning had a record of 46 wins and 53 losses. Looking at the current season's performance, Liaoning's record is superior to Guangdong's, with Liaoning currently ranked 5th and Guangdong 9th. This can be considered the first meeting of the two teams this season. Currently, Liaoning is lacking a big foreign player, while Guangdong is lacking a small foreign player. Among domestic players, Liaoning's Zhang Zhenlin and Zhao Jiwei were unable to play, and on Guangdong's side, Hu Mingxuan was also unable to take the court. After an intense battle, Fu Hao's final three-pointer sealed the game, ultimately securing Liaoning's victory over Guangdong. Throughout the game, Liaoning maintained a lead over Guangdong, or rather, they kept Guangdong under pressure. Both teams had four players score in double figures, with the best performances coming from their respective foreign players. The domestic players from both Guangdong and Liaoning performed averagely, especially the young players.
The main reason Liaoning won this game can be attributed to their strategy of focusing on "exhausting Xu Jie." They aggressively delayed and double-teamed Xu Jie on defense, switching between him and Morland, and on offense, whoever Xu Jie guarded had to work hard to score, aiming to accumulate fouls against him. By achieving this, Liaoning was able to maintain their advantage. Xu Jie played for 46 minutes in this game, shooting 6 out of 13, making 4 out of 7 three-pointers, and missing both free throws, scoring 16 points with 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 turnovers. After the game, Xu Jie expressed his strong dissatisfaction, stating that the main reason for the loss was being effectively defended by Liaoning, leaving him with few good shooting opportunities. Besides Xu Jie, head coach Du Feng also expressed his dissatisfaction. Du Feng mentioned that this was the last game of the year, and everyone played well, delivering an exciting match. He said that the players from both Guangdong and Liaoning are very familiar with each other, and they provided fans with a thrilling game. The main reason for our loss in this game is that our inside game is still not strong enough. Liaoning's Han Dejun and Li Xiaoxu are indeed very powerful. I sincerely hope that the two teams can have a proper rematch when both sides are fully staffed.
Now, some fans are saying that Guangdong lost a strong reinforcement in Zhou Qi this year without any reinforcements, and their offense has really deteriorated. It was so difficult just because one Hu Mingxuan was missing. Even without Liaoning's big foreign player, and with Zhao Jiwei and Zhang Zhenlin, the dual cores, absent, the situation was still firmly under their control. Liaoning's strength this year is significantly higher than Guangdong's. Therefore, it was expected that Guangdong would lose. Although Moreland and Bazley's defense is indeed top-tier in the league, their scoring ability is too poor. Wang Shaojie's skills have regressed, and Xu Xin is still the same Xu Xin who hasn't improved, growing tall for no reason. On the other hand, Liaoning's Foger is already strong enough, but then they got an even more formidable Wells. Although Wang Lanqin is borrowed, he is much stronger than Guangdong's young players. He truly dares to fight and compete. The two elders of Xuanming are still as powerful as ever. Liaoning is still very strong, and with the atmosphere of their home court, it's hard for anyone to win against them.
