The first away game of the season was reversed, and the Shanghai men's basketball team still struggled to find a win when it returned to its home court. Facing the mediocre Qingdao team, the "Big Sharks", who were in poor form, lost 97-101 and swallowed two consecutive defeats since the start of the new season.
This home opening match attracted many "Big Shark" fans to the Shanghai Stadium to watch the game. "The first home game of the new season, I hope to bring a win to the fans, I hope to have a good start." During the pre-match warm-up, Lee Hongquan expressed his and the team's goals, but the subsequent game process did not bring the expected happiness to the home fans.
The Shanghai men's basketball team, which started well, only maintained its lead for less than a quarter. The offensive end is frequently blocked, and the defensive end is still weak in the ability to protect the frame, even if the Qingdao team also feels cold on the outside, the "big shark" still can't occupy the advantage on the field. At the last moment of the last quarter, the veteran Liu Zheng hit three-pointers in a row, which once made the Shanghai men's basketball team see the possibility of a counterattack. Unfortunately, with 33 seconds and a 5-point gap, as Waters' three-point shot popped out of the frame, the "Big Shark" failed to turn over after all.
The five teams that started the game scored 89 out of 97 points for the team. Among them, Waters contributed 32 points, 4 rebounds and 14 assists, Wang Zhelin scored 24 points and 8 rebounds, Liu Zheng scored 18 points, 6 rebounds and 5 steals, Wilson scored 12 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists, and Li Hongquan, who played more than 36 minutes, only scored 3 points. In addition to the starting five, the other six players on the court scored a total of eight points. The new generation of players Dai Hao and Li Tianrong, who have high hopes like Li Hongquan, have not performed well, and the latter has not scored a point.
Just before the game, the Shanghai men's basketball team officially announced the news of the addition of new foreign aid John · Egbernu, and after passing the CBA company's registration review, the Nigerian center also appeared in the "Big Shark" lineup for the first time. The club had hoped that his athleticism and defensive awareness would add a lot of possibilities to the interior attack. However, judging from the "debut" of more than 6 minutes, Egbernu, who rushed into the game, has not yet found his form, not only scoring with zero points, but also few bright spots in rim protection and defensive performance.
'We started well. In the second quarter, the sudden attack could not be scored, but was overtaken by the Qingdao team, which was the turning point of the game. In the end, we tried hard to get it back, and there were a few times when we were successful, but we couldn't win. Analyzing the reasons for the defeat, Liu Peng, head coach of the Shanghai men's basketball team, said, "I've been talking about frontcourt rebounding, but I still haven't solved it today." Also, in the case of double foreign players, the score of 97 points is a bit low. ”
In Liu Peng's view, compared with the confidence and peace of mind shown by veteran players such as Wang Zhelin and Liu Zheng in adversity, the state and mentality of the young players in the team need to be adjusted. "Other domestic players didn't come forward. The team members are a little eager to win, they want to win and are afraid of losing, I think this is very undesirable, and they should be treated with a normal heart. He said bluntly, "In the game, once the score is close or overtaken, we are a bit of a mess ourselves. At the critical moment, the young players did not dare to make a move, and the old players were still reflecting their own value. ”
Among the many young players, Lee Hongquan and Lee Thiam Wing, who shone in the league last season, struggled in this campaign. The great contrast between expectations and reality also puts "Er Li" under a certain amount of pressure. In this regard, Liu Peng believes that the two need to be fully prepared to deal with difficulties. 'In terms of fitness and confidence, it should have improved since coming back from the national team. Last year they played very well, which is recognized by everyone, but this year there is a bit of pressure and the opponent is also focusing on them. Liu Peng said that he will strengthen communication with them in the subsequent training, "Since the opponent is targeted, we must use more scoring means in the attack to find a solution to the difficulty." ”
As the team's leading scorer and the heart of the tandem team, outside player Waters has been competent in the last two games. He said he was sorry not to lead the team to victory, but he didn't get anxious because of it. While doing his best, he offered to help his young teammates and lead them to the long season with confidence.
"I'm not worried and always have a strong belief in winning. It doesn't have to be a bad start, it must be a bad end, go forward step by step and try to get a better result in the later games. In Waters' eyes, no matter how good the individual is, it needs to be given meaning to the winning ending, "Scoring, assists are all about winning, and if you don't win, those numbers are just numbers on paper." So in addition to doing what I have to do on the pitch, I want to encourage my younger teammates a lot, boost their confidence and lead them to fight together. The season is still very long, and I believe that when the young players have enough self-confidence, we will aim higher. ”
For the young teammates around him, Waters specifically mentioned Liu Lijia, who has just returned from the national team training camp not long ago, hoping to help the new striker regain his confidence through more communication and exchanges. 'He's not been in great form lately, but the national team isn't something you can just get into, he's got the ability to do better, and I hope to help him.' Waters believes that Liu Lijia's play on the inside is the "weapon" that the team urgently needs at the moment: "We are losing a lot of rebounds now, and if he can regain his confidence and condition, he can better protect the basket, grab more rebounds for us, and help the team win the game." ”
As Liu Peng and Waters said after the game, for the Shanghai men's basketball team, which is dominated by young players, how to realize the talents of the rookies in the game, and how to lead the "young sharks" to cope with challenges and grow rapidly in a better state and mentality are the topics that must be faced in every training session and every game. "I want to win and develop at the same time, I want to do both, but it's really difficult." The pains of growing up are unavoidable, and Liu Peng's words are full of expectations and helplessness.