After the first eight rounds of the CBA, Shanxi's performance was satisfactory enough, they achieved a record of 6 wins and 2 losses in the first 8 games, ranking 6th in the league, and even suppressed the Shanghai team that completed large-scale reinforcement in the offseason. There are many reasons why the Shanxi team can play such an excellent performance, but I have to mention the progress of second-year student Zhang Ning, who really played.
Time back to the 2020 CBA draft, after Zhang Ning was selected by the Shanxi team, the outside world was in an uproar, and there were obviously more doubts about him than blessings, and they were more willing to think that Zhang Ning was an Internet celebrity who could not adapt to the strength of the CBA. Perhaps because of the pressure, Zhang Ning's performance in the early stage of entering the CBA league was not satisfactory. From his debut score of 0 points, he did not score in double figures in his first 8 games, and the highest score was only 9 points.
In the middle of the season, the Shanxi team sent Zhang Ning to the CBDL, which may have been the darkest time in Zhang Ning's life. Everyone has an idol, and Zhang Ning is no exception, and his idol is Jeremy Lin. In the days of deportation, he would read Jeremy Lin's social media every day, because Jeremy Lin had the same experience as him, and Zhang Ning took the initiative to learn from Jeremy Lin's spirit of not giving up.
Finally, the Shanxi team recalled Zhang Ning. After Zhang Ning returned to the team, his performance was much more comfortable than before, and he was more active in defending on the field and playing more freely. In the end, he contributed 20+ points in 3 games in the second half of the season, and his playing time was basically stable.
Since the start of the season, Zhang Ning has become a regular rotation player for the Shanxi team, basically getting nearly 30 minutes of playing time in each game. Of course, Zhang Ning did not live up to the manager's trust in him. Of the eight games he's played, only 2 have scored in double digits. After 8 games, Zhang Ning can contribute 11.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game, and the shooting rate is as high as 55.1%, and the three-point shooting rate can reach 45.5%.
Most importantly, many of Zhang Ning's roles are not reflected in the data. As long as he wears it, he can always contribute 120% of the effort to the game. Defensively, he will spare no effort to tear at the players he is in place, and at the same time he will fight for every rebound or out-of-bounds ball, and he is completely a new generation of desperate sanlang.
Talent can not be hidden, Zhang Ning with his unremitting efforts to finally establish a foothold in the CBA, he has used practical actions to prove that he belongs to the CBA. Zhang Ning is only 24 years old, and he will definitely make progress, maybe the All-Star Game, maybe the national team, which is possible. It may be that many years later, the outside world will still be full of doubts about Zhang Ning, but he will definitely take a high salary to laugh at this doubt.