22+8 in 24 minutes! Zhu Fangyu gambled to make a fortune, Zhou Qi stayed in Hongyuan, and Du Feng recreated a new dynasty
On April 18, Beijing time, in the face of Zhejiang Guangsha, the strongest team outside the semifinals of the regular season, Guangdong Hongyuan finally defeated the opponent 120-100 through the fourth quarter of competition, and made a good start to the playoffs! Of course, the difference in strength between the two sides in this game is not as big as the score difference shows, but Hu Jinqiu and Sun Minghui's two killer weapons failed at the same time in front of Hongyuan, but it made Hongyuan fans feel very excited! Especially Hu Jinqiu, who played 31 minutes and only got 11 points and 4 rebounds, which can be said to be no longer majestic! Let Hu Jinqiu completely "turn off the fire" is the "Great Demon King" Zhou Qi. Zhou Qi only played 24 minutes in the whole game, scored 22 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 assist on 9-of-13 shooting, and led the team to win the game without "sweating"! Zhou Qi's outstanding performance has to make people admire the big gamble of Zhu Fangyu, the boss of Hongyuan last year.
Zhou Qi and Hongyuan had nothing to do with each other, until last offseason, CBA fans generally believed that Zhou Qi would either go to Beijing or Shanghai. But no one thought that Shanghai and Beijing were afraid of Zhou Qi's injury, and they were reluctant to get higher chips, in the last window of the transaction, it was Hongyuan boss Zhu Fangyu who made a quick decision, and exchanged Zhao Rui, who had the idea of leaving the team, for Zhou Qi, who had been unable to play CBA for several years. At that time, everyone's opinion was, of course, that Hongyuan "earned", but this must have been a big gamble. After all, Zhou Qi was injured not long ago, and no one is sure that he will be able to return to his peak state, and Zhou Qi's contract is only one year left, and it is not clear whether he will be as noisy as before after expiration. And Zhu Fangyu has always maintained a confident attitude towards this transaction, believing that the arrival of Zhou Qi will definitely change Hongyuan and help the team return to the championship echelon!
Facts have proved that Zhu Fangyu really made the right bet. After Zhou Qi joined Hongyuan, although it took a long time to recover his body, in the key playoffs, Zhou Qi finally returned full blood, and represented Hongyuan in the playoffs for the first time, easily scored 22 points and 8 rebounds in the first game, and completely pinched Hongyuan's bitter master Hu Jinqiu. As long as Zhou Qi is in normal physical condition, he is indeed the strongest center forward in the local disconnection, which is a recognized fact. Looking back at the chips given by Hongyuan at the beginning, Zhao Rui has now been traded to the Xinjiang men's basketball team. So far, Zhao Rui has only played single-digit games for Xinjiang, and the likelihood of a comeback in the playoffs is also low. If Hongyuan still keeps Zhao Rui, Yi Jianlian will retire this season, and Zhao Rui will not be able to play for a long time due to injury, let alone keep the top four, I'm afraid Hongyuan may not even be able to grab a playoff seat!
Zhou Qi's contract will officially expire this summer, and it is obvious that in the CBA league that has now introduced a salary cap and banned "signing fees", there is no need for Zhou Qi to leave Hongyuan just for money, because the maximum salary of any team is the same. For Zhou Qi, staying in Hongyuan is probably the best choice, there are records, exposure, and the top coaching team and player lineup in the league, and there is really no reason to leave!