CBA New Season Preview: Xinjiang – Loss of Domestic Players & Younger Squad Composition; Continuing to Create Surprises in the New Season Will Be Challenging

On October 12th, the new CBA season will kick off. Today, we introduce the team Xinjiang Flying Tigers.

Review of Last Season:

Last season, Xinjiang traded Zhou Qi and Zhao Rui with Guangdong in a significant swap. Led by domestic player Abudushalamu, Xinjiang finished second in the regular season with a record of 41 wins and 11 losses, advancing to the playoffs. In the playoffs, Xinjiang defeated Guangzhou 3-1 in the quarterfinals and Zhejiang 3-1 in the semifinals. However, they were swept 0-4 by Liaoning in the finals, missing out on the championship. During the finals, Abudushalamu’s performance was subpar, and Jones’ statistics significantly declined after joining Xinjiang, making it difficult for them to adapt against the more experienced and powerful Liaoning team.

Offseason Changes:

This summer, Xinjiang officially announced Liu Wei as their head coach and made substantial adjustments to their squad. The team released Yu Dehao, Huang Rongqi, Mi Aili, Wang Quanzhe, Tang Caiyu, and Lu Tuba. Among these, Yu Dehao’s departure had a considerable impact on Xinjiang.

In terms of foreign players, Xinjiang reshuffled their lineup. Jones returned to Jilin, while Xinjiang confirmed a trio of foreign players: Peterson, Darius Lawson, and Ashton Hagans. Peterson, who played excellently for Jilin last season, averaging 27.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game, is well-known. Hagans also shows great potential. Additionally, Xinjiang promoted Yang Rui and Ge Haoran from their youth team to the first team.

Prospects for the New Season:

Xinjiang is one of the teams that underwent the most “trimming” this summer in the CBA. Apart from promoting Yang Rui and Ge Haoran from the youth team, they did not introduce any new domestic players, which has raised concerns about their performance in the new season. Fortunately, the addition of Peterson and Lawson provides a strong boost for Xinjiang.

Peterson’s abilities and performances are well-established. Lawson is a highly skilled and versatile player with good mobility and excellent three-point shooting ability, fitting perfectly into today’s small-ball era. Although Hagans’ scoring ability is average, his role in organizing the offense is evident. The clear division of responsibilities among the three foreign players will directly impact Xinjiang’s final results in the new season.

Despite releasing many players, Xinjiang still possesses a strong squad, combining young talent with experienced veterans to maximize the impact of foreign players on the court. Xinjiang remains promising for the new season. However, breaking through their performance from last season in the regular season will be challenging, though they still have the potential to reach the finals.

Predicted Starting Lineup:

Zhao Rui, Qi Lin, Abudushalamu, Peterson, Lawson

Ranking Prediction:

3rd to 6th place in the regular season