Probably most people did not expect that until the end of the 28 rounds of the first two stages of the regular season, the Shandong Expressway, which has been struggling and full of controversy so far this season, finally ushered in a battle of justification: after the fierce competition of the ups and downs of the fourth quarter, Lick ranked in the top eight of the standings and was known as the "giant killer" of Shanxi Fenjiu. This is the first time since 28 rounds of games that High Speed has beaten a team ranked ahead of its own team under normal circumstances, thus stabilizing the position of the once faltering playoff playoff area and temporarily unloading the heavy ideological baggage and going home for the New Year.
(Gao Shiyan Gengbo: Finally can rest, adjust well, the second stage is simply not seen)
As the top four teams last season, the first two stages of the regular season this season, the overall performance of the high speed was significantly lower than expected, basically hovering in the 10th and 11th places, belonging to the typical playoff marginal members. Of the 14 victories won in the first 27 rounds, only the first leg against Shanghai Jiushi and the second leg against Zhejiang Guangsha, which won two victories against opponents who ranked higher than themselves, and their gold content was deeply questioned due to Shanghai's extremely abnormal state and the serious disharmony of Guangsha's lineup. Once the second stage of the final battle is inferior to the high-skilled Shanxi, the huge public opinion pressure carried by the high speed cannot be alleviated, and the third stage cannot play a higher level, and the threat of being squeezed out of the top 12 will become more realistic.
Under the coaching of the famous coach Yang Xuezeng, Shanxi, which has been in the CBA for a long time, has become the biggest dark horse recognized in the first two stages of the season, and almost all the top teams in the standings have been cut down by it. Shanxi was among the top four at the top of the rankings, and the lowest was within the top eight, and is considered the uncompromised finalist in the playoffs. Unlike the unexpected situation when Shanghai and Guangsha lost to the high-speed, Shanxi's high-speed lineup was in order, the two teams were fighting with the strongest personnel allocation, the high-speed win was more well prepared, the on-field state was better, Xu Changsuo's much-criticized on-the-spot command had a great improvement, and Shanxi, which had lost two consecutive times, was not playing well due to its eagerness to get rid of the imbalance of the trough mentality, and the high-speed win was more convincing.
(Xu Changsuo: It is not my own thing that the team wants to go far away, and more people need to stand up )
Specific winning factors, tactical level, high-speed targeted defense of Shanxi key figures is very successful, Shanxi Feld, Yuan Shuai, Ge Chaobao, Zhang Shuai and other core players, only Zhang Shuai played a normal level, Feld, Yuan Shuai and Ge Chaobao's power are greatly weakened under the strict restrictions of high speed. Shanxi's defense of high-speed key figures is also in place, and the role of Hudson and Tao Hanlin has been reduced. However, the performance of the high-speed two-set lineup is much stronger than that of Shanxi, Shanxi basically stopped when Felder was not present, the big foreign aid Simmons only made a symbolic appearance, and the high-speed two-set lineup led by Gillenwater and Gao Shiyan really provoked the beam. In a sense, high-speed wins are won by Gillenwater's extremely efficient outbursts (45 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists in 26 minutes), as well as bench player Hou Peizuo's several key rebounds and steals.
(What exactly is the level?) People can't understand)
This victory to help get through the difficulties at high speed and boost confidence is worth a lot, and the club and team players can relieve the tension and have a good year, ushering in the interval with a relatively stable state of mind. If the quality of preparation is guaranteed, the prospect of playing at a better level in the third phase of the regular season, retaining the playoffs, and ultimately achieving the goal of being in the playoffs should be better than the end of the first phase. Of course, whether the chronic disease of excessive ups and downs will not emerge to plague the process of high-speed gradually entering a better state is still the biggest unknown, depending on how Xu Changsuo and Gong Luming's team respond.