In the first round of the playoffs, the Shenzhen men's basketball team won the Shandong men's basketball team 115-101 without any danger, and Shenzhen core Shen Zijie fought for 18 points, 16 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 blocks in 9 shots and 8 shots, with a plus-minus value of +20 the highest in the game. After three years of participating in the playoffs again, the all-round performance of the "Big Bird of China" proved that he is not just the best defensive player.
Before the match with Shandong, Shen Zijie received the best defensive player award in the regular season this season. He became the league's cap king for the second consecutive season, becoming the fourth player in CBA history to be crowned this honor after Yi Jianlian, Zhou Qi and Zhou Peng. At the moment of receiving the award, the Shenzhen teammates cheered for Shen Zijie, but the big bird himself deliberately kept a low profile. He knew that although this honor was a great recognition, the regular season had passed, and what awaited him would be more intense in the playoffs.
Shen Zijie's attitude reflects maturity and caution. This season's regular season, although Shenzhen doubled Shandong, but the opponent's main center Tao Hanlin was absent due to injury in both games, Shenzhen only won 3 points and 5 points in two games, the winning advantage is not obvious, for this reason, when Tao Hanlin returned from injury, when Shandong in the finale of the regular season to fight Guangdong is to challenge Shenzhen in the first round, Shen Zijie as the core is also necessary to guard against the comeback of Shandong.
Shandong's impact on Shen Zijie began from the moment the whistle sounded. The game was just 24 seconds long, and Shen Zijie was fouled by Tao Hanlin while grabbing a rebound. Facing the league's frontcourt rebounding king Tao Hanlin (averaging 5.3 per game in the regular season), facing Shandong's fierce inner line group, Shen Zijie, who wants to shield the shenzhen interior line, is indeed not less than a loss. In the second quarter of 8 minutes and 20 seconds, Shen Zijie single-defense Shandong big foreign aid Ji Lunwater was forcefully completed by the opponent to break through the barrier. In the fourth quarter, Gillenwater once again singled out Shen Zijie under the basket, once again completing the dunk against the big bird.
But the more this happened, the more Shen Zijie was stimulated by energy. Looking at the timing, Shen Zijie also did not hesitate to return it. With 7 and a half minutes left in the first quarter, Tao Hanlin grabbed the rebound in front of the court, and Shen Zijie raised his arms under the basket. The little shark struggled to squeeze out the shooting space by relying on the tonnage advantage, but was slapped by Shen Zijie and put the ball cap down. In fact, even if he was blocked, he could not hide Shen Zijie's efforts and courage on the defensive end. He can completely let his opponent's dunk avoid becoming a background, but he always faces it, only because he knows his responsibilities and understands that he is the only patron saint who can shield Shenzhen from the wind and rain on the defensive end.
As a result, shen Zijie built a no-fly zone for the Shenzhen forbidden area again and again. Jumping high to cover Chen Peidong's fast attack basket, rejecting Liu Guancen's breakthrough attack basket... Shen Zijie, who filled in the gaps everywhere, used his ability, awareness and positivity to escort Shenzhen on the defensive end. What is valuable is that Shen Zijie, as the core of the team, is still willing to bear all the dirty work. When the big foreign aid Salinger broke out on the offensive end in the second half, Shen Zijie kept covering for him and grabbing rebounds, which was rare for a young interior lineman who had become famous.
But Shen Zijie's power is clearly not just on the defensive end. On the offensive end and in tandem, this high-quality interior line also has capabilities that cannot be underestimated. Shandong knew that Shen Zijie was best at eating cakes and attacking the basket twice, but he still couldn't stop his attack. In the second half of the first quarter, Shen Zijie made a basket and a block and dismantled down, and successfully completed 2+1. One minute into the final quarter, Shen Zijie grabbed the rebound in front of him, turned around and wiped it under the basket, and still put the ball into the basket despite being fouled by the opponent in the air, causing the opponent to foul again. What is eye-catching is that Shen Zijie's ability to respond is improved compared to the past. In the last 27 seconds of the second quarter, Shen Zijie grabbed a rebound at the backcourt, and a long pass was thrown to the front court, assisting teammate Bai Haotian to receive the ball and go directly to the basket.
Shen Zijie, who fought for 42 minutes after fighting this battle, also showed his dominance and efficiency at both ends of the attack and defense. The data can better prove how brave Shen Zijie's battle is. According to the official statistics of the CBA, in the history of the CBA playoffs, in addition to Shen Zijie, only Yao Ming and Jilin foreign player Gerrigel have contributed 16 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 blocks in a single game, and the most recent Grigel played such a performance on March 9, 2005. That is to say, in the CBA's last 17 years of playoffs, only Shen Zijie has such a play. Thanks to Shen Zijie, Shenzhen was able to survive when Both Booker and Yang Linyi were accidentally injured in the backcourt.
It is not difficult to see that Shen Zijie in this battle is holding back to prove himself, first, because everything is difficult at the beginning, Shenzhen can only lay the bottom foundation by making a good playoff debut, especially in the three-win-two series. Second, because this playoff is quite meaningful to Shen Zijie. Due to Shenzhen's 2019-20 season, shen Zijie returned to the playoffs last season but left the hotel in violation of league regulations and was banned from playing (Shenzhen was eliminated by Beijing), so this playoff is also Shen Zijie's first playoff in the last three seasons. After missing the playoffs last season, Shen Zijie has long been waiting for this playoff.
Three years ago, when Shen Zijie last played in the playoffs, he was still one of the twin towers in Shenzhen and not the real core of the team. Three years later, China's big bird has spread its wings and soared, and Shenzhen has long established him as the core. This time, he will also do his best to make his mark on the playoffs.