In the Shanghai men's basketball team, Li Tianrong, once known as "China's mighty youth" by fans, is encountering his rookie wall, and his position in the team is gradually marginalized.
In yesterday's Shanghai men's basketball team against Xinjiang, Li Tianrong played a total of 15 minutes, scored 2 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists, this game can be said to be a microcosm of his season - his average contribution is huge compared to last season, he even seems a little confused on the court. And his teammate, Liu Zhengqing, who is also a direct rival, is using increasingly consistent performances to consolidate coach Li Chunjiang's trust in him.
Back more than a month ago, at the 2022 CBA All-Star Weekend Chinese Slam Dunk Contest, Lee Thiam Wing won the championship with 90 points on two dunks, Lee Thiam Wing said: "I feel very lucky and hope that I can play better in the regular season to show my ability and talent. ”
Since his birth last season, "talent" is the biggest label Lee Thiam Wing has been given. His signature dunk, super large stride, explosive liftoff, belly, arm pick, dunk, can't help but remind fans of another genius of the "post-Yao era" Shanghai men's basketball team - Xu Yong.
But talent seems to be the "wall" that trapped his growth, and there is not much time left for him to break the wall.
Li Tianrong is actually lucky, last season he came to the Shanghai team, which expanded the rotation and accelerated in an all-round way, and met Li Chunjiang, who only looked at attitude and ability, not his qualifications. His counterattack came in handy, and even more scarce was the extremely scarce mid-range shot. In the first phase of the CBA League last season, Lee averaged 11.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game, shooting a terrifying 70% from the field. It is old and efficient, and the delicacy in the mighty is really valuable.
But this season, when his shot is completely gone, when his passing and defense still seem so immature, when the only thing he can do on the field is a breakthrough... In this way, he is too easy to be pinched by the opponent's targeted defense, so he hesitates and is confused - if he can't score with the ball, what should he do next? So most of the time, he became a tool man to let the ball pass.
There are not only players in the back line of the team who need to be trained, but also a lot of talented young people, and Li Chunjiang will not wait for him forever. In the past six games, Liu Zhengqing, who is in the same position as Li Tianrong, has only played 2 games before, with a total of only 10 minutes, but against Xinjiang, Liu Zhengqing plug-and-play, as soon as he plays. His open three-point shooting was very consistent — he made four three-pointers throughout the game and cut down 12 points and two rebounds. This is exactly what the Shanghai team needs.
Liu Zhengqing's performance will lead to Lee Thiam Wing's playing time being further compressed. When the two main players who were injured, Liu Zheng and Guo Haowen, return, Li Tianrong's situation will be even less optimistic. He needs to regain his confidence as soon as possible and earn the manager's trust.
History tells us that for young players, what often restricts how far they go is not how long their long boards are, but how short their short boards are. The most valuable thing for players is the ability to make steady and continuous progress, you must know that the Shanghai men's basketball team has never lacked "dunk kings", they are all talented, but how many have really entered the top ranks in the end?
Editor-in-chief: Chen Hua
图片来源:新华社 Source: Author: Yao Qinyi