Guangdong VS Guangzhou Preview: Barton & Bazley Hope to Make Debut, Who Will Secure the First Pre-season Win?

At 16:00 on September 20th, the pre-season games of the 2024-2025 CBA season will kick off. In the Fujian Jinjiang division, Guangdong will face off against Guangzhou first. Also in the same division are Tianjin Ronggang and Fujian Xingye SBS men’s basketball teams.

The Guangdong men’s basketball team has undergone significant changes during this year’s off-season. After playing for one season, Zhou Qi chose to leave. The team also made adjustments to their foreign players, with General Manager Zhu Fangyu choosing two former NBA players: Will Barton and Darius Bazley. These two have had impressive careers in the NBA, with Barton averaging 11.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game, and Bazley averaging 8.9 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. If these two can integrate well with the team, they are worth looking forward to. They have also traveled with the team to Jinjiang and are expected to make their CBA debut.

In addition to changes in foreign players, Guangdong has seen the departure of Zhou Qi among domestic players. The team has signed Wang Shaojie and Huang Rongqi, making the roster still quite strong. However, this time, Guangdong’s lineup is not complete as Hu Mingxuan, Xu Jie, and Du Runwang are currently training with the national team and will definitely be unable to play. In addition, Ren Junfei and Zhang Wenyi failed the initial physical test and will need to retake it before they can represent the team.

The Guangzhou Loong Lions have also experienced major changes, completing a large three-way trade with Liaoning and Nanjing, acquiring All-Star guard Guo Ailun. This will make them one of the focus teams in the new season. Due to an injury that has not yet healed, Guo Ailun will not play in this game (he did not even participate in the physical test). In the trade, Guangzhou also sent away Zhu Mingzhen, and the team’s backcourt core player Chen Yingjun also left, leading to a decline in overall strength.

In terms of foreign players, the Guangzhou Loong Lions have signed Douglas, who previously played for the Macau Black Bears. In a friendly match against the Chinese men’s basketball team, he scored 19 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. Additionally, the Guangzhou Loong Lions have also adjusted their coaching staff, with Guo Shiqiang coaching the Chinese men’s basketball team and thus having to give up his position at the club. Guangzhou did not choose a domestic coach but instead brought in foreign coach Nate Mitchell, who spoke about his coaching philosophy, emphasizing maintaining aggression and making the team more aggressive.

This is the first pre-season game of the new season for both teams, with changes in their rosters. It remains to be seen which team will secure the first win.

>>”>For more predictions on this game, click >>>