At 19:30 on August 22, the NBL welcomes the first round of playoff matches, with Anhui Wenyi hosting Hefei Crazy Storm at home.
Anhui Wenyi are the defending champions, and this season they secured an impressive 23 wins and 3 losses in the regular season, earning them the top spot. They finished the regular season with a five-game winning streak, showing very hot form. Wenyi’s offense and defense are both very strong, averaging 102.4 points per game, ranking first, and are the only team in the league to average over 100 points per game. Their average points conceded are only 90.3, and their average net win is 12.1 points, also ranking first in the league.
Anhui Wenyi boasts a super-luxury lineup, with three foreign players all being top-tier in the league. The big foreign player Johnson stands at 2 meters 13 centimeters tall, a giant in the paint, averaging 20.5 points, 11.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.3 blocks per game, with an extremely high shooting percentage, excelling both offensively and defensively. The small foreign player Pierre Jackson averages 22.9 points and 5.1 assists per game, with an outside shooting percentage exceeding 40%. The other newly joined foreign player Jilunwater, although he has only played 6 games, averages 23.2 points in just 21 minutes per game, with very high efficiency. Together, the three foreign players can score nearly 67 points, making their firepower almost terrifying.
Of course, Anhui Wenyi is not just strong in their foreign players, their domestic players are also excellent. Yang Wenbo averages 12.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game. Xue Fuman averages 7.8 points, and in the final regular-season match against Shijiazhuang, Xue Fuman hit all 9 of his outside shots in 14 minutes of playtime, scoring 29 points, showcasing hot form. Taiwanese guard Gao Jinwei averages 12.7 points and 6.3 assists. In addition, Wenyi has local talents such as Tang Jie, Zheng Qilong, and Liu Renbin.
Hefei Crazy Storm’s strength is average, securing the eighth place in the regular season only after narrowly defeating Henan in extra time in the final round, barely making it into the playoffs. In 26 regular-season games, Hefei Crazy Storm won only 9 and lost 17, indicating limited team strength. Their average score of 90.4 points is the lowest in the entire league, however, their defense is quite good, conceding an average of 94.2 points per game, ranking fourth in the league.
Hefei Crazy Storm’s offense mainly relies on three foreign players. Anosk is a scoring maniac, averaging 29.9 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game, with a very comprehensive skill set. The big foreign player Agravanis averages 19 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, while another foreign player Ekmar averages 12.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game. Together, the three foreign players average 62 points per game, accounting for 69% of the team’s total score. Among the domestic players, the highest scorer is Wang Yaofeng, but he averages only 8.4 points, and Si Kun, who previously played in the CBA, averages 6.6 points. The team’s offense is overly reliant on foreign players.
In the four encounters during the regular season, Wenyi won all of them. Judging from both the regular season performance and the team’s paper strength, Wenyi has an absolute advantage. However, two of the four matches had a point difference of less than 8 points, plus Hefei Crazy Storm’s defense is quite good, and their foreign players have superb scoring abilities. In the real and intense playoff showdown, Wenyi will not find it easy to secure a victory.
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