CBA season 2007-2008

[sinobball]

Zhejiang defeated weak team Jilin 95-82 as 6 players scored in double digits, led by Luo Zhi's 19 and Soumaila Samake's 17p 19r. Ding Jinhui added 13p 10r, while 3rd-year forward Deng Li, who has looked strong in preseason, added 14p. Jilin was led by Wang Bo (19p 9r 5a) and Dajuan Tate (22p)

Full game video
http://vlink.sports.cn/2007/10/28/1291605.asx (1st half)
http://vlink.sports.cn/2007/10/28/1291763.asx (2nd half)

Jilin=white 7 Wang Bo, 9 Du Jiang, 4 Lu Yan, 31 Zhao A-nan, 22 Dajuan Tate, 11 Steve Castleberry, 55 Ma Yansong, 25 Nie Jinqiang, 53 Han Lei, 12 Cheng Zhiming, 4 Liu Wei (not the NT one)

Zhejiang=red 15 Luo Zhi, 11 Wang Nan, 8 Liu Weiwei, 9 Deng Li, 32 Wang Shilong, 6 Sui Xiaolong, 34 Soumaila Samake, 5 God Shammgod, 4 Ding Jinhui

[sinobball]

Beijing edged Shandong 93-88 at home behind 16p 16r from Olumide Oyedeji. 5 other players scored in double digits, and heralded rookie Ji Zhe (2005 Nike Hoop Summit) added 6r in limited minutes.

Shandong, considered to be the stronger team, only had 10 free throws compared to 48 from the host team. The imports dominated (25p 14r from Herve Lamizana and 24p 10r from Tuck Mack) but the other players were pretty underwhelming.

Full game video
http://vlink.sports.cn/2007/10/28/1291792.asx (1st half)
http://vlink.sports.cn/2007/10/28/1291897.asx (2nd half)

Beijing=white, 8 Jiao Jian, 12 Chen Lei, 15 Zhang Yunsong, 00 Olumide Oyedeji, 9 Michael Fay, 13 Men Wei, 7 Xie Libin, 6 Zhao Yonggang, 51 Ji Zhe

Shandong=red, 7 Sun Jie, 33 Herve Lamizana, 21 Mack tuck, 14 Chen Xiaodong, 4 Wang Gang, 9 Cao Zhenhua, 15 Wu Ke, 22 Qu Zhenjie, 6 Duan Chenglong, 5 Lou Yandong, 8 Zhang Xiaowei, 20 Xu Jialiang

[sinobball]

Dongguan 103-Shanghai 102
Anthony Myles scored 45 pts, including the game winner to open the season at home. Myles also had 18 rebounds and Zhang Kai added 13p 19r, completely dominating Shanghai's fragile frontcourt. Jerod Ward led Shanghai with 32p 17r, while second year players Luo Xudong (13p 6s) and Peng Fei (13p 5r) showed improvements, after playing in Europe's ULEB Summer league. Shanghai's phenom Xu Yong was injured from their last preseason game.


Liaoning 98-Zhejiang Guangsha Lions 87
Coming off his rusty performance at the preseason Grand Waldo Cup, Ernest Brown (35p) single-handedly led Liaoning past Zhejiang Lions at home.


Jiangsu 131-Shanxi 97
Jiangsu beat weak team Shanxi behind Hu Xuefeng's 30p 10s and Tang Zhengdong's 26p 10r. Jiangsu's former star import Ryan Forehan-Kelly was his old self with 17p 6r 7a, while Hu's substitute, highly regarded 6'5'' PG Han Shuo had 19p in 18min.


Xinjiang 115-Shaanxi 101
After a year of rest, Mengke Bateer (22p 16r) cruised over Shaanxi but Shaanxi's import Brandon Robinson outscored him with 31p

No video available



=================
Best individual performances in the first round:
1. Anthony Myles, Dongguan 45p 18r 4a
2. Ernest Brown, Liaoning 35p 6r 4b
3. Hu Xuefeng, Jiangsu 30p 2r 3a 10s
4. Brandon Robinson, Shaanxi 31p 10r 2a 2s 2b
5. Nigel Dixon, Yunnan 31p 18r

[sinobball]

having a former actor as a point guard though? How rusty is he?

I think after 3 years Yen is still a very good player.

Better than his "gay"ish acting
e.g. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFcpse-QnmI
Or his boy band's gay music videos (e.g. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JIIcKzEQZA (quite possibly the gayest MV I've ever seen)

Basketball-wise, Yen did well this game. He was very active, had a couple turnovers early on, but found his rhythm and dished a number of nice dimes, including a behind the back one for a 3. It's clear that his understanding of the game is great; his conditioning needs more work however -- while he tried hard on defense and had 1 great block on Lu Xiaoming -- his defense, once a big part of his game in his early days, could still be improved.

As expected from a celebrity, Yen was very vocal as a PG, directing his teammates and encouraging them, showing great leadership. It is believed that he will attract a large number of teenage groupies to the stands, much like Yi did. Of course Yi was a much better player; but a number of basketball-illiterate teenage girls like Yi's look more than his game. Now some say Yen, who has staged concerts in mainland before, looks like Yi.

OWNS

[sinobball]

Liaoning 87-85 Zhejiang Horses
http://vod.s.nubb.com/k07cba/02/071030_ln_zj_1.wmv (1st quarter)
http://vod.s.nubb.com/k07cba/02/071030_ln_zj_2.wmv (2nd quarter)
http://vod.s.nubb.com/k07cba/02/071030_ln_zj_3.wmv (3rd quarter)
http://vod.s.nubb.com/k07cba/02/071030_ln_zj_4.wmv (4th quarter)

[sinobball]

Top 10 players after 2 rounds:
1. Nigel Dixon, Yunnan (1-1) 33.0p 19.0r 2s
2. Anthony Myles, Dongguan (1-1) 35.5p 12.5r 2a 2s
3. Mengke Bateer, Xinjiang (2-0) 20.5p 15.5r 6a 2s
4. Wang Zhizhi, Bayi (2-0) 26.0p 8r 2.5a 2.5s 2.5b
5. Soumaila Samake, Zhejiang (1-1) 15.5p 19.5r 2.5b
6. Jerod Ward, Shanghai (0-2) 34.0p 16.0r 2a
7. Ernest Brown, Liaoning (2-0) 24.5p 9r 2s 4b
8. Hu Xuefeng, Jiangsu (2-0) 25.0p 3r 3.5a 7s
9. Brandon Robinson, Shaanxi (0-2) 24.0p 11.5r 1.5a
10. Herve Lamizana, Shandong (1-1) 24.0p 12.5r 2s 2.5b

[mvblair]

1. Nigel Dixon, Yunnan (1-1) 33.0p 19.0r 2s

Wow. I'm glad to see that he's doing well. I think he was last in the NBDL and having some weight problems. It's good to see that he's playing well in a better league. He's one of the biggest players in the sport.

3. Mengke Bateer, Xinjiang (2-0) 20.5p 15.5r 6a 2s
4. Wang Zhizhi, Bayi (2-0) 26.0p 8r 2.5a 2.5s 2.5b

Is "a" assists? Is Bateer averaging 6 assists?

[sinobball]

Nigel Dixon, the #1 pick of the CBA import draft, is the heaviest player in the league and thus unstoppable on offense and boards. Despite not playing any defense whatsoever he is the focus of their offense.

Yes, Bateer is averaging 6 assists. Not surprising if you know his game, he's always been a top 5 passer in the CBA.

And CBA is hardly a "better" league than NBDL.

[guywhoneverspeaks]

Hopefully the arrival of guys like Dixon will encourage Chinese players to bulk up. Guys like Chen Jianghua and Xu Yong are already extremely athletic, but they would really benefit from better conditioning and more body strength.

[mvblair]

Yes, Bateer is averaging 6 assists. Not surprising if you know his game, he's always been a top 5 passer in the CBA.

Yeah. He's a very talented big man, but 6 assists per game? I just looked up his statistics, and I saw that he averaged 5 last year.

And CBA is hardly a "better" league than NBDL.

I respectfully disagree. The NBDL has so little consistency in players and coaches. I'm mean, they're good players in the NBDL, but the game is just not organized. Just my opinion.

[warren99]

Tang leads Dragons past Beijing in CBA's second round

BEIJING - Jiangsu, Xinjiang, Bayi and Liaoning all won for the second consecutive games at the start of the Chinese CBA season.
Chinese international Tang Zhengdong dominated with 31 points and eight rebounds as Jiangsu, the Dragon club, beat Beijing, 110-102.
Tang, a seven-footer, had to go up against 6ft 10in Olumide Oyedeji of Nigeria, who plays for Beijing.
"I've competed with him (Oyedeji) in the CBA many times," Tang said.
"At the beginning, he has some certain advantages. As I've matured, though, Oyedeji can't overwhelm me any longer.
"He's not the type of player I'm scared of. Physically, I'm far stronger than he is."
Tang and Co led 29-17 after the first quarter and that strong start propelled them to victory. Xie Libin had 23 points in a losing cause.
Liaoning blew a 15-point lead at the end of the first quarter but still edged Zhejiang Wanma 87-85.
They stormed out to a 32-17 advantage after the opening 10 minutes but Zhejiang Wanma with Ding and Sui Xiaolong each pouring in 15 points, battled back only to come up just short. Bian Qiang's 20 points and five rebounds led the winners.
Bayi got 27 points from Wang Lei in their 101-95 triumph over Dongguan.
Xu Guozhong had 30 points as Xinjiang rolled to a 108-95 win over Jilin. Dejuan Tate finished with a game-high 34 points in a losing cause.
Shanxi Zhongyu prevailed 102-95 over Shanghai, whose Jerod Ward led all scorers with 36 points. Zhang Xuewen finished with 22 points and eight rebounds for Shanxi Zhongyu.
Nigel Dixon had 35 points and 20 rebounds in Yunnan's 122-114 victory over Shanxi Dongsheng.
Zhang Nan caught fire and scored 26 points to lead Zhejiang Guangsha to a 98-88 victory over Shandong. Zhang was also a force on defense, coming up with a league-high five steals.
Fujian slipped to an 89-84 home defeat to Guangdong, who got 29 points from Chinese international Wang Shipeng.
Standings :
No. Team Win Loss
1.Jiangsu 2-0
2.Xinjiang 2-0
3.Bayi 2-0
4.Liaoning 2-0
5.Zhejiang Wanma 1-1
6.Fujian 1-1
7.Zhejiang Guangsha 1-1
8.Beijing 1-1
9.Yunnan 1-1
10.Dongguan 1-1
11.Guangdong 1-1
12.Shanxi Zhongyu 1-1
13.Shanghai 0-2
14.Shandong 0-2
15.Shanxi Dongsheng 0-2
16.Jilin 0-2
source:fiba.com

[warren99]

Champions Bayi march on

BEIJING - Wang Zhizhi contributed 18 points and 10 rebounds as defending champions Bayi extended their unbeaten record to 4-0 with a 100-83 win over Beijing in the CBA on Sunday.
Chen Lei scored 25 points for Beijing but it was to no avail as Li Ke supported Wang with 18 points of his own.
Xinjiang are the only other team with a 4-0 record, although they had to work hard for a 96-95 victory over winless Shandong.
David Jackson scored 24 points for Xinjiang to see them home by the narrowest of margins.
Jiangsu lost for the first time this season, going down 91-84 at Zhejiang Wanma, despite 23 points and 26 rebounds from Tang Zhengdong.
Samake Soumaila was the main contributor for Wanma with 31 points and 18 rebounds, to take his sides record to 3-1.
Last year's beaten finalists Guangdong slipped to 2-2 after a 122-106 defeat at Dongguan, for whom Anthony Myles added an incredible 45 points and 11 rebounds.
Jerod Ward scored 33 points to lead Shanghai to a 95-93 win over Zhejiang Guangsha, Shanxi Dongsheng defeated Liaoning 91-83 and Fujian went down 106-103 at Shanxi Zhongyu despite 22 points and 13 rebounds from Chris Porter.
Finally, Jilin recorded their first win of the season with a 111-104 overtime victory against Yunnan, Dejuan Tate scoring 37 points.
source:fiba.com

[warren99]

Bayi out on their own

BEIJING - Reigning champions Bayi are the only unbeaten team in the CBA after five rounds following their 84-75 win over Zhejiang Guangsha on Wednesday.
Bayi were slow to get into their stride against second-bottom Guangsha (1-4), heading in at the interval locked at 37-37.
But the champions gradually stretched their legs in the closing quarters, opening up a nine-point advantage at the buzzer courtesy of an inspired performance by Mo Ke, who poured in 32 points and pulled down 10 rebounds.
David Lucas also registered a double-double (21 points and 19 rebounds) in a losing cause for Guangsha.
Xinjiang lost their 100% record with a 104-87 reverse against Jiangsu, who recovered from defeat last time out to join Xinjiang on 4-1 for the season.
Ryan Forehan-Kelly and Hu Xuefeng poured in 25 points apiece for Jiangsu while David Jackson's game-high 31 points were in vain for Xinjiang.
Zhejiang Wanma (4-1) moved into second place following a 95-82 win over Shanghai, who could not capitalise on 26 points from Jerod Ward.
Ding Jinhui top-scored for the victors with 21 points.
Elsewhere, Mack Tuck's 32 points led Shandong to a 121-106 win over Shanxi Dongsheng, Beijing suffered a narrow 104-103 loss to Fujian, who had Chris Porter's 34 points and 13 rebounds to thank for their third win of the season.
Jilin are bottom of the pile after a thumping 131-97 defeat at the hands of Liaoning, while Yunnan were led by Dontae Jones' 31-point haul in a 106-99 win over Dongguan, who had 34 points from Anthony Myles.
In Tuesday's game, Guangdong moved into fifth place after crushing Shanxi Zhongyu 137-90.
source:fiba.com

[sinobball]

Let's see how the ranking is after 11 rounds (Jilin and Shandong played 1 less game, their game delayed due to weather)

1. Guangdong Southern Tigers (9W-2L)
Last season: 2nd
Preseason ranking (by me!): 2
Coming off 2 early losses, Guangdong has won 7 in a row. Wang Shipeng (24.9p 46%3P, almost 10 3p attempts a game) has stepped up to lead the team, and reportedly the team will upgrade Cassiano Matheus with ex-NBA player Lamond Murray to solidify their position. Most of their remaining games will be played at home, oh, and Chen Jianghua has not played yet (injury).

2. Jiangsu Dragons (9-2)
Last season: 3rd
Preseason ranking: 3
Jiangsu picked up Ryan Forehan-Kelly in the offseason, who starred for the team in 04-05 before leaving China for Europe. Well he's back and better than ever, averaging 24.3p 9.1r 4.2a. Tang Zhengdong (21.9p 13.0r), as always, is unstoppable and the team is #1 in scoring with 112 a game.

3. Xinjiang Flying Tigers (9-2)
Last season: 9th
Preseason ranking: 5
While some were initially suspicious, it turns out that Mengke Bateer's offseason signing was the very reason the non-playoff team metamorphized into a title contender. Bateer (16.1p 12.5r and 4.8a) made his teammates better with his accurate passing, and David Jackson (26.1p) is one of the league's best scorers.

4. Fujian Sturgeons (7-4)
Last season: 5th
Preseaon ranking: 6
Chris Porter (26.9p 12.5r) is the reason that Lu Xiaoming can average 8.0 assists a game.

5. Bayi Army Rockets of Ningbo (7-4)
Last season: 1st
Preseason ranking: 1
Bayi started the season 6-0, but has since lost 4 of 5 games, 3 of which against weak teams. Wang Zhizhi (25.5p 9.6r 2.4b) is still putting up MVP-like numbers, but the other players are too inconsistent.

6. Liaoning Pandas (7-4)
Last season: 4th
Preseason ranking: 7
Liaoning is still undefeated at home. Ernest Brown (22.2p 9.9r) needs to be a little more consistent.

7. Beijing Ducks (6-5)
Last season: 10th
Preseason ranking: 9
The 2 centers must share a total of 60 minutes per the CBA import rule, but Olumide Oydeji (16.6p 15.5r) and Michael Fey (16.1p 6.7r) have contributed nicely to the team.

8. Zhejiang Horses (6-5)
Last season: 7th
Preseason: 4
Zhejiang has the best defense in the league (giving up 90.5p a game) thanks to Soumaila Samake's (17.7p 15.3r 2.4b) inside presence. Young star Ding Jinhui (18.5p 8.2r) is doing well.

9. Dongguan Leopards (5-6)
Last season: 11th
Preseason: 13

10. Shandong Lions (4-6)
Last season: 7th
Preseason: 8

11. Yunnan Honghe Running Bulls (4-7)
Last season: 16
Preseason: 11

12. Shaanxi Kylins (4-7)
Last season: 13
Preseason: 16

13. Jilin Northeast Tigers (3-7)
Last season: 12
Preseason: 14

14. Zhejiang Guangsha Lions (3-8)
Last season: 14
Preseason: 10

15. Shanxi Fierce Dragons (3-8)
Last season: 15
Preseason: 15

16. Shanghai Sharks (1-10)
Last season: 8
Preseason: 12
Past CBA winner Shanghai, with a stable franchise, is surprisingly having a truly terrible season. It is paying the price of having too many young players -- 6 of the 10 losses are within 10 points, and only the last game was a blow out (37p loss). Hoepfully Anthony "Pig" Miller can bring better fortunes.

PS: All my preseason rankings and current rankings differ within 4 positions. While this season has been more unpredictable, there is still a big difference between strong and weak teams.

[sinobball]

Top Chinese players:
1. Wang Zhizhi, Bayi 25.5p 9.6r 1.8a 2.0s 2.4b
2. Mengke Bateer, Xinjiang 16.1p 12.5r 4.8a 1.3s
3. Tang Zhengdong, Jiangsu 21.9p 13.0r 2.2a
No surprises in the top 3.

4. Zhang Kai, Dongguan 18.0p 12.0r 1.7a 1.2s 2.8b
Zhang Kai is the rail-thin athletic 7-footer who represented China in FIBA-Asia. He was allegedly born in 1982, and even if that could be trusted was still relatively old when he first played in CBA in 2005. He has a lot of natural talents and maybe, as avolbert said in the 13th post of the thread, could deserve a look by the NT next year.

5. Zhang Nan, Zhejiang Lions 19.7p 6.0r 3.2a 2.0s
Who? Like Zhang Kai, Zhang Nan (no relation) had been in the CBA for a few years, but never got much recognition due to always playing for weak teams (first for Yunnan). He is an 197cm forward allegedly born in 1981. Thin, loves to drive, good footwork and touch, not much defense.

6. Wang Shipeng, Guangdong 24.9p 3.3r 2.7a 2.0s
National Team mainstay has become a 3p shooting specialist which hopefully can translate well in Beijing Olympics. Still, almost as many turnovers as assists as a guard, and this is only the CBA.

7. Zhu Fangyu, Guangdong 20.4p 5.5r 2.2a 1.5s
Also doing well in CBA, like he did for the past 8 years or so.

8. Ding Jinhui, Zhejiang 18.5p 8.2r 1.5a 2.1s 1.1b
Like I predicted, last year's rookie of the year will have a great season before the Olympics.

9. Lu Xiaoming, Fujian 9.6p 5.5r 8.0a 3.4s
Diminutive point guard having a good season. However, China NT doesn't take players under 6 feet.

10. Tian Yu, Shaanxi 19.2p 4.9r 1.0a 1.8s
Tian sat on the bench last year in Liaoning because he's short (barely 200cm center) and slow. But he's a good shooter, and after he transferred to Shaanxi which has no other center, shot the lights out, including his career-high 26p, coincidentally, against his former team Liaoning.

Next 10:
11. Mo Ke, Bayi 15.8p 7.3r (NT bench player)
12. Hu Xuefeng, Jiangsu 16.5p 3.6r 3.3a 2.8s (always good in CBA, not in NT)
13. Xue Yuyang, Xinjiang 16.0p 5.6r (NBA draft pick)
14. Cao Zhenhua, Shandong 14.4p 7.2r 2.0s (last year college league's MVP)
15. Wang Bo, Jilin 14.4p 8.1r 4.8a (stats are good, percentage is low)
16. Liu Wei, Shanghai 16.0p 5.3r 6.1a (can never lead a team to win)
17. Xu Yong, Shanghai 16.1p 5.7r 2.0a (best NBA potential, far from ready)
18. Chen Zhaosheng, Yunnan 17.8p 4.7r (smart player, almost 40 years old)
19. Yen Hsing-Su, Yunnan 10.1p 4.9r 7.3a (Taiwanese actor!!)
20. Xu Guochong, Xinjiang 16.6p 3.5r (3p shooter)