Waking Up to Guangdong Hongyuan's Official Statement: Xu Jie Receives Good News, While Zhang Haojia Again Hurts the Team

On September 5 Beijing time, Guangdong Hongyuan completed their first preseason game of the summer. Although they ultimately lost narrowly to Shenzhen, they showed encouraging content on the court, and the team's mentality changed significantly after the arrival of the new head coach. After the game, Hongyuan officially released highlights of the match with the caption: "The preseason has begun, seize the opportunity for real-game experience and continue refining." Xu Jie also received good news, as he has a larger role under the new coach's system and has become the team's absolute core, with the new coach showing great trust in him. Zhang Haojia, meanwhile, once again hurt the team, as Guangdong saw a double-digit lead overturned by Shenzhen in the fourth quarter. The turning point of the game was Zhang Haojia's consecutive turnovers and missed defensive assignments. It is hoped that the new coach can recognize Zhang Haojia's ability and adjust his usage appropriately.

Clearly, Xu Jie plays a core role in new coach Yakovlevich's new system. The new coach views Xu Jie as the primary ball-handler on offense and has given him extensive ball-handling responsibility and freedom to take shots.

A guard like Xu Jie, who has skills, shooting ability, playmaking and passing, would be highly valued anywhere. His only weakness is his height, but that is something he was born with and cannot change. From last night's game, Xu Jie focused more on adapting to the new coach's tactics, guiding teammates' movement, and mainly contributing through passing and organization, while rarely taking shots himself. Shenzhen gave Xu Jie plenty of physical pressure, frequently sending double teams and traps, which allowed him to adapt early to the pace and intensity of regular-season games. It can be seen that his training trip in the United States this summer was effective, as Xu Jie has made certain improvements in ball-handling and shooting.

Although Guangdong lost last night, as the official statement said, the players need to seize real-game opportunities to continue improving, including their adaptation to the new system and their own practical skills and tactics. The new coach gave almost every player a chance, and it depends on whether they can take advantage of it. Wang Hongze, who scored 24 points, did so, and Huang Mingyi, who scored 5 points and showed bright moments on defense, also took advantage of the opportunity.

Zhang Wenyì and Chen Jiazhen, who scored 11 and 14 points respectively, also made the most of their opportunities. Of course, Guangdong was missing as many as six key players in this game, not including Zhou Peng and Yang Tengfei, who were on the bench but did not play. The team lacked significant size in the interior and on the wing, forcing Huang Mingyi and Wang Hongze to play as centers. For now, the focus remains on observation, and no final judgments or conclusions can be made yet.

However, this game likely gave Yakovlevich a clear impression of Zhang Haojia's struggles. This is a conclusion many people are already aware of, but the new coach was unfamiliar with Zhang Haojia and needed real-game situations to evaluate him. Zhang Haojia directly affected the team's performance in the fourth quarter last night. Beyond his previous missed open three-point attempts, his consecutive turnovers and defensive lapses in the final minutes of the fourth quarter were difficult to associate with a veteran who has played seven years in the CBA. It is often said that rookies should be evaluated over three years, but Zhang Haojia has already played seven seasons. His cautious style of play, unreliable three-point shooting, and tendency to be beaten by opponents off the dribble are well known. Zhang Haojia, indeed, should not be part of the main rotation.