Tomorrow, the third phase of the CBA regular season will be in full swing. For the Shanghai Sharks men's basketball team, which has already locked a playoff spot in advance in the second stage, there is still no small motivation to play this last ten rounds of games and prepare for more brutal playoffs.
Do you have the strength to reach the finals?
First, the Sharks, currently in second place in the regular season standings, will play two games each with two other teams in the top three, Liaoning and Guangsha. It will be a really strong conversation this season.
Since the Sharks are basically the third stage of staffing to play the playoffs, this is also the best touchstone to test how far the team can go after two seasons and once again appear in the playoffs.
So far this season, the Sharks have done quite well against the strong teams. The record of 10 matches with the five teams in the eighth to fourth place is 6 wins and 4 losses. They both killed the fourth-place Zhejiang team and the seventh-place Guangzhou team; facing the defending champion Guangdong team was one win and one loss, and the eighth place Beijing team was also one win and one loss; but the Shenzhen team, which faced the same style, lost both legs.
Judging by the results of the two stages of the regular season, the Sharks, whose combat power has soared this season, have the hard power to occupy a playoff four place.
Then, after the third stage of the match with the leader Liaoning and the third place Zhejiang Guangsha, it should be able to assess whether the sharks have a chance of reaching the final finals or even lifting the championship trophy.
Double foreign aid prepares for the playoffs
Second, if the Sharks want to make a difference in the playoffs and achieve better results, the role of the two foreign players Franklin and Vonle is crucial.
The big foreign aid Vonle arrived in the team shortly before the start of the second stage, and he did not systematically participate in the team's joint training. Although statistically speaking, the average double-double (16.4 points and 10.9 rebounds) per game is already very good, but at least from the overall performance of the game, he is still too single-handed, and has not really integrated into the team's tactical system.
Now, after nearly three weeks of complete training after the Spring Festival holiday, the run-in between Feng Lai and his teammates and the understanding of head coach Li Chunjiang's tactical system should be better. Everyone is also looking forward to his performance in the third stage and further improving the team's strength in the inner line.
As for the young foreign assistant Franklin, after Ferredet was unable to reach the team, his importance was even more self-evident.
In the second stage, Franklin, who was affected by the injury, was significantly less eye-catching than the first stage, and the playing time was greatly compressed. After resting and adjusting, he will also continue to find his best form through these ten games in the third stage, trying to reach the playoffs with full blood.
There are also young people who have the opportunity to perform
This season, the Sharks not only soared in their record, but also achieved good results in the cultivation of young players. In the first two stages of the regular season, the three 21-year-olds Guo Haowen, Li Tianrong and Yuan Tangwen all played well and were important contributors to the team's good results.
In particular, Li Tianrong, who played in his first CBA season, averaged 10.6 points per game and ranked first in the team with a shooting rate of 57.6%.
In the third stage of this game, head coach Li Chunjiang brought a new person, 19-year-old point guard Dai Hao. Although Dai Hao has registered with the first team this season, he has only played one preseason game with Xinjiang, and now he is expected to make his CBA debut.
Dai Hao and Li Tianrong are the main players of the Sharks' 2020 National U19 Youth League championship, and the team's backcourt twin stars. In the second stage, when the big sharks played in the big foreign aid Feng Lai and the small foreign aid Franklin sat on the bench, only Yuan Tangwen had a full-time point guard, and now Dai Hao can let Li Chunjiang have more backcourt players to choose from.
Before going to Shenyang, Dai Hao said that as a newcomer, if he could play, he would cherish every minute and do his best to complete the tasks assigned by the coach. He also said that Li Tianrong is a good example for himself, "We are about the same age, he has played a very good role in the team, I hope I can also integrate into the team as soon as possible like him, and strive to bring more help to the team." ”