The Guangsha team has always been a strong team to be reckoned with in the CBA league. After years of accumulation and hard work, they have repeatedly achieved good results in the regular season, competing with the strong Guangdong team, which shows their strength. However, in the most critical playoff stage, the Guangsha team lost one after another and missed the finals, which made people sigh.
This defeat is undoubtedly a heavy stone, weighing on the hearts of every member of the Guangsha team. But what's even more worrying is that the team is facing a complete rebuild. The eight players whose contracts have expired, as well as the future direction of head coach Wang Bo, have become thorny issues that need to be solved urgently.
What are the factors that led to the Waterloo of the Guangsha team? Where are the key players? Can Wang Bo's position be retained? What are the prospects for the team's future development? These series of questions are worthy of in-depth discussion.
Injury nightmares plague the playoffs and fall into passivity
Judging from the performance of the regular season, the Guangsha team is undoubtedly a dark horse in the CBA league this season. With their excellent strength and tacit tactical cooperation, they once competed with the strong rival Guangdong team for the fourth place, and finally advanced to the playoffs with a fifth place. This is undoubtedly impressive.
However, things took a turn for the worse after the playoffs began. Injuries to key players have continued one after another, which has seriously affected the team's performance. The first to bear the brunt are the inside general Hu Jinqiu and the defender Sun Minghui.
Hu Jinqiu is the inside champion of the Guangsha team, and his excellent singles ability and defensive explosiveness have always been the backbone of the team. And Sun Minghui is the core of Guangsha's offensive end, with good ball control and shooting, which is the lifeline of the team. The injuries of the two core players have undoubtedly made the situation worse for the Guangsha team.
Without the support of Hu Jinqiu and Sun Minghui, the performance of the Guangsha team in the playoffs seemed inadequate. In the first round against Guangdong, they ended up in the semi-finals with a heavy defeat of 35 points, which can be described as a matter of injury.
The reason for such a poor performance is not only the injury factor, but also the lack of overall strength of the team. Wang Bo's performance in employing people and tactical arrangements is also not very satisfactory. In contrast, Guangdong coach Du Feng performed better in leading the team.
The good performance of the Guangsha team in the regular season also relied more or less on the core lineup left over from the Li Chunjiang period. After Wang Bo took office, he failed to significantly change the team's tactical play and staffing, which led to the team's inability to do so at critical moments.
This passive situation, coupled with injuries to key players, ultimately led to the Cantons' playoffs. This is undoubtedly a disappointment and regret for the fans, and it also puts a lot of pressure on the team.
In the upcoming summer transfer window, the Cantons must make a series of big decisions in their quest for a complete rebuild.
When the contract expires, the player goes to stay in focus
After this defeat, the Guangsha team had to embark on a comprehensive roster adjustment. The most prominent problem is that as many as eight players are about to expire on their contracts. This includes the three rookies of the Guangsha team - Hu Jinqiu, Sun Minghui and Zhao Yanhao.
For a team that has been fighting for championships for a long time, it is undoubtedly a huge problem for such a core player to expire. After all, in the competitive arena of the CBA, excellent players are always the object of competition among many teams.
Especially Sun Minghui, his outstanding performance in the playoffs has made him the focus of attention of many fans and the outside world. Sun Minghui, who has always been considered a defensive problem, has improved comprehensively this season, being good at organizing offense and making strong contributions on the defensive end. This has skyrocketed his market value.
There is news from the outside world that Sun Minghui may consider going elsewhere. Now after experiencing this playoff fiasco, even if Sun Minghui chooses to leave in the end, it is reasonable. As the core of the Guangsha team, he was undoubtedly very disappointed with the team's defeat.
In addition to the question of the departure and retention of star players such as Sun Minghui, the Guangsha team also needs to consider the contract renewal of other players. Role players such as Li Jinxiao, Wang Qingming, Lai Ke and Zhao Jiayi, although not as dazzling as Sun Minghui, play an important role in the team's tactical system.
How to make trade-offs and balance between these players will be a major test for the management of the Guangsha team. After all, a team's squad stability is crucial to maintaining their record. If there is a large-scale loss of players, it will inevitably have a huge impact on the overall strength of the team.
In short, the Cantons urgently need to make a series of prudent and decisive decisions in the upcoming summer transfer window. Only by properly managing the issue of the departure of these expiring players will they be able to lay a solid foundation for future rebuilding.
The fate of the coach is in jeopardy, and changing the coach becomes an option
In addition to the player's contract issue, another major focus that the Guangsha team is currently facing is the future of head coach Wang Bo.
Since taking over the Guangsha team, Wang Bo has not been able to lead the team to achieve the desired results. Although Guangsha's performance in the regular season was acceptable, Wang Bo looked weak on the higher-level stage of the playoffs. Especially in terms of personnel and tactical arrangements, his performance is far less than that of Guangdong coach Du Feng.
This can't help but make people wonder if Wang Bo is really suitable to lead this "runner-up team" that will impact the championship. After all, the Guangsha team has stood outside the threshold of the playoffs for many years in a row, and has been unable to realize its dream of winning the championship. If he can't reverse the decline in the future, Wang Bo's position may be difficult to keep.
What's more, Wang Bo has also been questioned in the choice of foreign aid. For example, in the final battle of this year's playoffs, the performance of the Guangsha team's foreign aid was disappointing, far inferior to the Guangdong team's foreign aid lineup. This undoubtedly increased fans' doubts about Wang Bo's coaching ability.
Not only that, but Wang Bo also had problems in developing young players in the past. In contrast, Yang Ming's way of coaching Liaoning is more recognized. He is adept at discovering and nurturing young talents, allowing them to gradually grow into the backbone of the team under the leadership of Yang Ming.
This comparison is inevitably reminiscent of Wang Bo's ability to cultivate more young players in Guangsha, perhaps the overall strength of the team will not have such a serious fault at a critical moment.
Therefore, after this loss in the playoffs, Wang Bo's position can be said to be in jeopardy. If the Guangsha team wants to achieve better results in the future, changing the coach may be an option worth considering.
A head coach who can really lead the team to play at the level it should have is undoubtedly of great significance to the future of the Guangsha team. Only by finding a suitable leader can the Cantons take their place in the increasingly competitive CBA league and bring more joyful moments to the fans.
The road to reconstruction of the Guangsha team is a long way to go
On the whole, the setback suffered by the Guangsha team this season is undoubtedly a huge blow. As a dark horse in the CBA for the past many years, the Guangsha team has always had high hopes, but has repeatedly failed to make breakthroughs at the most critical moments.
The loss in this playoff game is a loud wake-up call. It reminded the management of the Cantons that the team had reached a critical moment where it had to undergo a complete rebuild. From the departure and retention of players whose contracts expire to the future direction of coach Wang Bo, a series of major decisions are placed in front of them.
I believe that the management of the Guangsha team must know that only by making the right choice can they lay the foundation for the future development of the team. After all, the Guangsha team, as a traditional CBA powerhouse, has been based in the league for many years and has accumulated rich experience.
But unfortunately, it has been six full years since the Guangsha team broke into the finals for the first time in 2018, and they still can't achieve the championship they dreamed of. In contrast, the current Liaoning team has successfully lifted the championship trophy and is expected to attack the third consecutive championship and the fourth championship in team history.
This is undoubtedly a heavy blow to Guangsha fans. They are looking forward to Guangsha being able to hit the championship, but the disappointment and regret year after year also make people feel very helpless.
Therefore, the Cantonese must act decisively this summer. They need to make the right choices, whether it's in the introduction and retention of players, or in the selection of managers. Only in this way can the Guangsha team return to the CBA championship in the future and bring fans a long-lost happy time.
This road to rebuilding will not be smooth sailing, and the Guangsha team will face many difficult choices. But as long as they persist in their quest and strive to build a championship team in the true sense, I believe that one day, the Guangsha team will be able to set sail and regain its former glory.