NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 576 Nan Ciqi's Key Figure

The Chinese men's basketball team has always lacked ball-handling offensive capabilities on the wings. This is a major reason why, over the years, when facing strong opponents, our guards have been forced to stay close to half-court and unable to initiate transition offense.

Because your wing ball-handling ability is poor, and because playing with twin towers means that tall players are not good at dribbling and advancing the ball, the opponent dares to double-team your guards without restraint.

The ability of the guards is one aspect, and the team structure is another.

Why were they so strong in 08? Besides Yao Ming's unstoppable leadership, Wang Qi and Zhu Ba were both incredibly skilled in 3D and D, and they also had Sun Dasheng, who could handle the ball and defend.

Don't underestimate Sun Dasheng. His presence gives the ball more options for movement and transition, and he can also dribble the ball across half-court, making it difficult for the opponent to successfully double-team the ball carrier.

The Chinese men's basketball team had the potential to develop a wing player with ball-handling and offensive capabilities in recent years, and that player was number 4. Unfortunately, he suffered a serious injury and has faded into obscurity. It's truly a pity!

After Jia Fei arrived, there was another player who could handle the ball, in addition to the point guard position. This solved the team's problem of lacking a ball-handler and instantly gave people a sense of relief.

The Chinese men's basketball team has always had an advantage in the paint, especially against teams in Asian and African basketball where there isn't a significant height advantage. However, the reason this advantage hasn't been fully realized in recent years ultimately stems from the perimeter players' inability to accurately pass the ball to the inside.

Jia Fei arrived, and everything became better!

Needless to say, Art Mayok and Yi Jianlian benefited from this, even the "Big Devil" and "Grandma Wang" were able to dominate the paint in Ivory Coast, and the Chinese men's basketball team took a double-digit lead in the first quarter.

With the first quarter setting the tone, the players felt less pressure and started to play more freely. Everything went smoothly, and the score remained stable.

Jia Fei finished his shift in the third quarter, and the Chinese men's basketball team ultimately defeated the Ivory Coast men's basketball team by 30 points at their home court in Wukesong, achieving a winning start to this Men's Basketball World Cup!

贾飞全场贡献22分7个篮板11次助攻4次抢断3个盖帽，用一场完美的国家队处子秀献给在场球迷。

Art Mayork recorded a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds in this game, proving that he did not get into the national team through Jia Fei's connections, and that his ability is NBA-level.

A resounding victory finally put the minds of fans who were worried about Jia Fei and Art Mayork's integration into the Chinese men's basketball team at ease. Judging from this game, the arrival of Jia Fei and Art Mayork has significantly strengthened the team, and everyone is already looking forward to the knockout stage. It's quite likely that the home team will advance from the group stage.

It's important to understand that Group A's overall strength isn't very high. The Chinese men's basketball team was previously considered a top-tier team, which was largely due to being the host country. However, the situation is different now. They are indeed the strongest team in this group, at least for now.

Lin Ning sent her congratulations immediately after the game, excitedly saying that she had watched the whole game and had never seen the Chinese men's basketball team's offense so fluid!

Clearly, all of this is thanks to Jia Fei.

If Jia Fei had been born a few years earlier, and he and Chairman Yao had worked together, one inside and one outside, the scene would have been too beautiful to bear.

In the other match in the same group, Poland defeated Venezuela by a large margin.

China's next opponent is Poland.

For the "Big Demon King" (Li Nan), whether he can avoid becoming a Polish center and how to avoid forming a "Nan Ci Qi Jiu" (a Chinese idiom meaning "Nan resigns, Qi is blamed") combination with head coach Li Nan depends on this match. To be precise, it depends on whether Jia Fei and his teammates can save them.

For Jia Fei, the best way to avoid a "world problem" is to have a significant lead. Even if one does appear, he will still win and it won't affect the outcome. If he makes a mistake, it won't be a "world problem," and he, the Great Demon King, won't become a Polish citizen.

The post-game discussions about the Chinese men's basketball team's opening match were rampant both online and offline, with Chinese fans ecstatic, finally welcoming another world-class superstar. Unlike Chairman Yao, Jia Fei has comprehensively strengthened the Chinese men's basketball team, focusing on their weakest point: the perimeter. He has improved everything from perimeter defense and offense to playmaking.

Jia Fei's ability to control the game and his leadership gave the team a refreshing feel. Yi Jianlian has always been a representative of talented players and possesses NBA-level skills, but he is clearly not a qualified team leader. He's more like an introverted class monitor than a class leader with outstanding leadership abilities.

After the game, Jia Fei did not make any "victory declaration" in front of everyone. He was particularly low-key and declined head coach Li Nan's invitation to give a summary.

Li Nan was very satisfied with Jia Fei's performance. He was not greedy for credit or rash, he was low-key and capable, and he had leadership skills and could control the pace of things. He was simply a perfect leader.

February has arrived...

On September 2nd, in the second round of Group A, the Chinese men's basketball team will face the Polish men's basketball team!

This game is very important because if they win, according to FIBA ​​rules, a win earns 2 points and a loss earns 1 point. So the Chinese men's basketball team will get 6 points. Even if they lose to Venezuela in the last game, they will still advance from the group stage with 7 points.

Besides competing against world-class teams, another crucial task for the Chinese men's basketball team in this World Cup is to secure a ticket to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. According to the rules, only one direct ticket to the Olympics will be awarded to the Asian team with the best performance in this tournament.

It is worth noting that after the first round of the first stage group stage, the six Asian teams—China, Iran, Japan, South Korea, Jordan, and the Philippines—had a record of 1 win and 5 losses, with only the China men's basketball team securing a victory.

This is undoubtedly very good news for the Chinese men's basketball team (Japan, as the host country, has already secured its place).

The lead that the Chinese men's basketball team has gained within the Asian contingent is not easily shaken, as the other five teams are in jeopardy after their opening losses.

Even with NBA-caliber players Rui Hachimura and Yuta Watanabe, and with their Olympic qualification virtually assured, the Japanese men's basketball team was utterly outmatched by Turkey, a second-tier European team, ultimately losing by 19 points. Since the USA men's basketball team is also in their group, Japan's only hope for advancement lies in a miracle.

Iran, who were originally the most likely to compete with China for the best Asian team record, were drawn into the same group as the strong Spanish team. Their first match against Puerto Rico was crucial, but they played a game that started strong but ended weakly.

Facing Poland, the strongest team in their group, will be a crucial match for the Chinese men's basketball team. A win would secure their Olympic berth; a loss would mean competing against Venezuela for the other qualifying spot!