Shanxi has been fined nine times in the last four years for incidents similar to the one that went down on Sunday. (Photo: Osports)

Yesterday, to provide some context for Sunday night’s craziness, we wrote a post listing all of the times fans league-wide have thrown stuff onto the court this season. Which then got us to wondering: Exactly how many times has Shanxi chucked stuff onto the court over the last few seasons?

Today, thanks to a NetEase report published late Tuesday night, we now know that answer. Since 2008-09, Shanxi has been fined nine separate times for their fans’ behavior, eight of which are listed below.

December 3, 2008 - Round 8 vs. Beijing: Fans throw lighters onto the court in two separate incidents, causing the game to stopped. The league gives the club a strong warning, fines them 100,000 RMB.

February 11, 2009 – Round 34 vs. Guangsha: With 3:41 to go in the game, fans pelt the court with lighters and other objects and shout obscenities at the referees. Afterwards, the league publicly criticizes the team, fines the club 10,000 RMB and fines the arena 50,000 RMB.

March 15, 2009 – vs. Round 48 vs. Shandong: With 27.3 seconds to go in the fourth quarter, fans throw bottes, lighters, fruit and other objects which causes the game to be interrupted for five minutes. During that interruption, Shanxi’s owner “Boss Wang” Wang Xingjiang, gets into the referees’ face and violently kicks a courtside advertisement. The team is given a strong warning, a public criticism and is fined 100,000 RMB. The arena is fined 50,000 RMB for their failure to control the crowd.

February 5, 2010 – Round 20 vs. Guangdong: Fans throw objects onto the court during the game. The club is strongly warned and is fined 80,000 RMB, the arena is fined 30,000 RMB. On February 2nd, Shanxi was fined for a similar offense, making this the second time in the last three days that Shanxi has been penalized by the CBA.

December 22, 2010: Round 5 vs. Guangsha

Shanxi’s Shang Ping hammers Guangsha’s Javaris Crittenton and and gives out an additional elbow after the while. Guangsha’s P.J. Ramos, who is trailing the play, runs over and pushes Shang Ping down to the ground. Fans lob anything they can get their hands on, causing the game to be stopped for several minutes. Shang Ping and Ramos are suspended a game each. Both teams receive a public criticism. Shanxi is fined 10,000 RMB and Guangsha is fined 20,000 RMB.

December 23, 2011 – Round 15 vs. Liaoning: A water bottle is thrown at Liaoning’s players from behind their bench and lands on the nearside foul-line. The CBA dishes out a strong warning to both the team and the arena, and fines the team 10,000 RMB.

February 12, 2012 – Round 33 vs. Guangdong – 2012

Shanxi’s Zhang Xuewen is called for a foul on Guangdong’s Wang Zheng. Not happy with the call, Zhang punches the basket support and is called for a technical. Seconds later, fans begin to throw lighters onto the court. As Guangdong normally does in these situations, the coaching staff orders the team into the locker room. Despite orders from the game’s technical director to come back, Guangdong insists that they will do no such thin until order has been restored. Shanxi an the arena are both levied a strong warning and the team is fined 20,000 RMB.

March 13, 2012 – Semi-Finals Game 4 vs. Beijing: Fans throw water bottles and lighters towards the end of the fourth quarter after a no-call on Marcus Williams’ drive to the basket. After the game, fans block the Beijing bus while throwing things at it, and prevent it from leaving for one hour and 20 minutes. Shanxi and the arena are fined 30,000 RMB each.

DongGuan – 97 @ Guangdong – 111

Aaron Brooks put in 24 points, James Singleton went off for 20 points and 19 rebounds, and Zhu Fangyu scored 23 as the Southern Tigers took care of business in the second leg of their annual DongGuan derby match against the Leopards. It’s the Southern Tigers’ 11th straight win.

–Jon Pastuszek

Box Score

Shanghai – 89 @ Bayi – 77

The Shanghai Sharks came roaring back from their two recent losses on the road with a commanding victory over the Bayi Rockets. The once all-conquering powerhouse of Chinese basketball looked a frail version of their former selves and a young, confident Sharks side dismantled their guests with ease. With other results going their way, the Sharks now move up to seventh place in the CBA table as the season continues to go down to the wire.

Marcus Landry was putting on a show towards the end of the game and threw down a couple of thunderous dunks, Meng Lingyuan popped up with a nice lay-up and Liu drilled home a couple of jump shots to keep the tempo going but as a competition the game looked wrapped up by the start of the fourth quarter. There was still time for Xu Zhonghao to confirm that his IQ is lower than his jersey number when he needlessly blindsided the considerably smaller Meng with seven seconds left on the clock. As the guard lay prone on the floor, Mike Harris looked like he wished he could do more than point to the scoreboard and look pissed, but the game was done. Meng eventually got to his feet, the buzzer rang and the Sharks were 89-77 victors.

Landry scored a game-high 22 points whilst Harris (15 points, 10 rebounds) and Zhang Zhaoxu (11 points, 15 rebounds) both picked up double-doubles in a result that Coach Panaggio called ‘a very good game against a very good and well coached team’. For Bayi, Wang Zhizhi scored 20 points.Taking the time to praise his team, Panaggio also praised the defensive work of Liu Ziqiu for keeping Bayi at bay. When asked about Wednesday’s critical match, the Sharks’ coach was brief and direct; ‘We’ve got a very big game against [Zhejiang Bulls]‘; ‘they are in a battle for a playoff spot as are we. There are no room for slip ups’.

–Andrew Crawford

Box Score

Foshan – 111 @ Zhejiang – 107

The Golden Bulls are hanging onto their playoff lives after becoming only the fifth team to lose at Foshan this season. J.R. Smith once again put up a huge scoring output with 41 points, but as has been the pattern recently, huge individual tallies haven’t been adding up in the win column. Michael Maadanly 34 points and five rebounds and Marcus Haislip had 31 and 10 to lead the Dralions to their seventh win of the season.

–Jon Pastuszek

Box Score

Will McDonald continued his case for NiuBBall All-CBA First Team with a dominant 36 point, 17 rebound performance against Liaoning. Losers of their last three, Liaoning are now out of the playoffs, while Fujian sits in sole control of fifth. Liaoning’s Han Dejun had 20 points and 14 boards for the losers, who were unable to get past Rodney Carney’s 3-14 performance from three.

–Jon Pastuszek

Box Score

Guangsha – 100 @ Shanxi – 107

Guangsha is now unbelievably out of the playoffs. Like they have all year, Shanxi relied on its foreign duo of Charles Gaines (28 points, 14 rebounds) and Marcus Williams (27 points, four rebounds, six assists) to beat a desperate Guangsha team who is still searching for answers to what is now a 2-9 streak. Wilson Chandler had 22 points and seven boards, but was once again not aggressive getting into the lane as he finished with only one free-throw attempt. P.J. Ramos played well with 32 and 17.

–Jon Pastuszek

Box Score

Beijing – 102 @ Qingdao – 114

Qingdao’s Li Gen scored a career high 41 points and Lester Hudson stuffed the stat sheet with 39-7-10 as Qingdao took down the Ducks at home. The result won’t really affect anything — Beijing pretty much has the No. 2 spot locked up, while Qingdao would need to win their last three and get some help in the standings to make the playoffs.

–Jon Pastuszek

Box Score

Xinjiang picked up a crucial win that improved their chances of making the post-season after getting third road win of the season against Jilin. The visitors overcame a tough shooting night by Tim Pickett through balanced scoring, as five different players scored in double-figures. Gani Lawal had 21 points and nine rebounds and Tang Zhengdong had 17 and seven, including a crucial tip in down the stretch to secure the win.

Cartier Martin went off for 30 second half points after only hitting for four in the first half.

–Jon Pastuszek

Box Score

Jiangsu – 99 @ Shandong – 102

Box Score

Guangsha – 69 @  Xinjiang – 99

Once towards the top of the standings, is Guangsha even going to make the playoffs? That’s the question after the Lions were blown out in Urumqi on Friday. After rebounding with a strong game in Round 28, Wilson Chandler reverted back to passively shooting jump shots, finishing 4-16 for 10 points.

The game was never close. Xinjiang’s Tim Pickett got off to a hot start and continued to stay aggressive on offense, scoring 35 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Gani Lawal contributed with 15 points and eight boards and Mengke Bateer put in 15. The win is Xinjiang’s fourth straight and puts them in seventh place, while Guangsha drops to sixth.

Guangsha feeds of Chandler, who when he wants to be is the toughest individual matchup in the league. However, a long-term NBA deal likely on the table whenever he returns to the NBA, Chandler’s priority appears to lie within maintaining his health in preparation for his big payday.

–Jon Pastuszek

Box Score

Shanghai – 108 @ Shanxi – 119

The Shanghai Sharks came, they saw, they got lit up. Shanxi’s high scoring duo of Marcus Williams and Charles Gaines did exactly what their guests were hoping they wouldn’t and blew Shanghai away with some red-hot shooting. After a plucky first half from the Sharks, the Shanxi Brave Dragons’ demolition men coolly stepped up a gear and promptly ripped the Sharks asunder with a devastating final twenty minutes of huge threes, marauding drives to the basket and some deft low post action. It was not pleasant viewing for a Shanghai fan.

Although the Sharks limped their way over the hundred-point mark themselves, the margin of defeat was telling and the visitors now make their way back to Shanghai after eventually losing 119-108 to a rampant Shanxi team that is almost certainly bound for the playoffs. Williams finished on 44 points, Gaines got 37 of his own whilst Ren Junhui’s 11 points meant he also got in on the double-digit party for Shanxi.

Meanwhile Mike Harris picked up a double-double of 37 points and 12 rebounds for Shanghai, Marcus Landry got 23 points and Liu Ziqiu continued his quiet resurgence with a gutsy 14 points but the Sharks now have to win four from their final five games to have any chance of making it to the postseason. Tough times just become a lot tougher.

–Andrew Crawford

Box Score

Liaoning – 94 @ DongGuan – 107

DongGuan got 35 points and 16 boards from Shavlik Randolph and Josh Akognon had 27 as they beat visiting Liaoning by 13 at home. Thanks to Randolph’s activity in the frontcourt, DongGuan went +7 on the offensive glass and forced the visiting squad into 10-27 from the three-point line. The Jaguars, who have won just two road games the whole year, got nothing out of Josh Powell, who played only 16 minutes, picking up four points and three rebounds. At 14-13, they have put themselves out of the playoff picture and could slip further if they lose tonight at Fujian.

–Jon Pastuszek

Box Score

Shandong – 115 @ Zhejiang – 121 (OT)

Alan Anderson shot an amazing 42 shots to tally 54 points, but his individual shootaround wasn’t enough for Shandong to come up with the win. J.R. Smith shot 29 shots to get 41, but Zhejiang’s balanced support in Josh Boone (19 points), Ding Jinhui (15) and Chang Chunjun (13).

–Jon Pastuszek

Box Score

Jilin – 96 @ Fujian – 109 

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Tianjin – 112 @ Beijing – 122

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Qingdao – 97 @ Jiangsu – 92

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Bayi – 116 @ Foshan – 106

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Qingdao – 110 @ Zhejiang – 122

J.R. Smith scored 60 points and broke a CBA single-game record with 14 threes. I’ll let the video to the rest of the talking.

–Jon Pastuszek

Fujian – 132 @ Guangsha – 125 (2 OT)

Wilson Chandler’s 36-21 wasn’t enough to keep visiting Fujian from getting a much needed split on their Shanghai-Guangsha road trip to keep their playoff hopes very much alive. Zaid Abbas, Will McDonald, Anthony Roberson and Gong Songlin combined for an insane 121 points as only Zhou Qixin and Yang Genglin were the only other two players to score.

11-loss Guangsha now faces a critical road test at Xinjiang on Friday. A win will put them squarely in mess that is the CBA playoff race, a win will give them some breathing space.

–Jon Pastuszek

Shanghai – 84 @ Xinjiang – 89

A Shanghai Sharks team got close but couldn’t win against a Xinjiang Flying Tigers side that showed flashes of real talent and menace but also looked brittle at times. Having stayed with the Flying Tigers throughout the game, a crucial ninety seconds decided everything. Firstly, Shanghai’s Mike Harris fouled out and Mengke Bateer converted his second free-throw from the foul to make the scores 82-82. A clutch three from Xirelijiang and then a lay-up form Shanghai’s Zhang Zhaoxu made it 85-84. With 17 seconds on the clock, the Sharks then managed to turn the ball over not once but twice and the Tigers confirmed victory in farcical fashion and that frankly was a little harsh on a visiting side that played with 100% effort.

Lawal scored 19 points and picked up 15 rebounds whilst Picket also got a 15 point, 12 rebound double-double. For Shanghai, Landry got a game high 20 points, Harris made 15 and Zhang got 10.

A tough loss for the Sharks mean that they fall out of the post-season places with another tricky away game (Shanxi Dragons) waiting for them on Friday. (What’s worse is that they’ve lost the tiebreaker to Xinjiang — their head-to-head record is even, but their head-to-head point differential, Xinjiang +1, gives them the edge in the event that they finish with the same record. You can thank that last steal by Pickett on Liu Ziqiu for that one. — Jon) Shanghai will need to regroup and play with the same zest against the Dragons that they showed in Urumqi if they are to have a shot at keeping their playoff dreams alive.

–Andrew Crawford

Liaoning – 108 @ Guangdong – 122

34 points from Aaron Brooks and 28 from James Singleton gave the Southern Tigers a rare game of total import dominance, as the only Chinese players to check in with double figures were Zhou Peng and Zhu Fangyu. It’s Guangdong’s 10th straight win.

–Jon Pastuszek

Jilin – 98 @ DongGuan – 120

Jilin makes it 0-2 on what will soon be an 0-3 Guangdong-DongGuan-Fujain road trip as they start to plan their spring off-season. And hey, maybe Jilin knows that more than we do — Cartier Martin only played 14 minutes and Osama Dahglas played 10. Wait, did I say off-season? I mean months and months of burning out their bodies with mindless practices. For the Chinese players.

DongGuan’s Josh Akognon continues his hot post-Spring Festival break with 31 points. If he stays hot, DongGuan will be a tougher team to beat come playoff time.

–Jon Pastuszek

Shandong – 87 @ Bayi – 107

Foshan – 115 @ Shanxi – 129

Jiangsu – 99 @ Tianjin – 105

Fujian – 90 @ Shanghai – 94

A nervy Shanghai Sharks held on to beat the Fujian Sturgeons after a flurry of clutch three pointers pulled the home side away from danger in the closing seconds of the game. Anthony Roberson was a constant menace for the visitors and lit up the Sharks at times in the second half. A commanding performance from Liu Wei and some gutsy three-pointers from Wang Yong were critical to giving the Sharks victory but this was a game that could have gone either way in the crucial stages but for once, the luck was with Shanghai.

Roberson scored a game high 39 points that included 7 three-pointers, whilst Zaid Abbas (17 points, 16 rebounds) and Will McDonald (17 points, 11 rebounds) got themselves double-doubles. For Shanghai, both Liu and Mike Harris made 20 points, whilst Wang got 15, Marcus Landry scored 13 and Zhang Zhaoxu got 10 in an evening of high drama.

A relieved Coach Panaggio was happy with a tight victory but knows that away games against Xinjiang and Shanxi are coming round the corner and that his side can’t relax for even a second. ‘I’m very happy with the win but we were somewhat lucky’, he noted in a concise press conference. With the squad still adjusting to the loss of Ryan Forehan-Kelly, the Sharks’ boss was also quick to praise a number of players who have stepped up since the forward injured himself in December, particularly Liu Ziqui, who had a strong defensive game and made the crucial shot to ensure victory for the Sharks; ‘we’re a better team when he’s playing at the level he’s at [right now]‘. The Sharks’ will need all the big contributions they can get now that the post season is getting closer and closer.

–Andrew Crawford

Box Score

DongGuan -109 @ Guangsha – 114

The battle of third and fourth place ended with a big home win by Guangsha thanks to a bounceback 28 point, 10 rebound effort by Wilson Chandler. Jin Lipeng, coming off his usual spot on the bench, had a much improved 18 point performance, while Lin Chih-chieh cashed in 23. P.J. Ramos clocked in with a double-double – 21 points and 11 rebounds.

Josh Akognon went off for 40 points, Shavlik Randolph had 29 points and eight rebounds.

With the win, Guangsha is now even with DongGuan in the loss column. But because DongGuan has a larger head-to-head point differential, they own the tiebreaker in the event that both teams finish the year with the same record.

–Jon Pastuszek

Box Score

Zhejiang – 104 @ Tianjin – 112

In a shock upset, 14th placed Tianjin took out J.R. Smith and the Zhejiang Chouzhou Golden Bulls. In his first game for Tianjin, newly signed Herve Lamizana thrashed the visitors for 37 points and 12 boards. Donnell Harvey also got into the 30-10 act with 34 points and 12 rebounds.

J.R. Smith went for 37 points on a staggering 19-22 from the free-throw line, but once again it was his sister, Stephanie, who stole the show. Midway through the third quarter, she got into it with several Tianjin fans and before finally exiting, threw up two middle fingers to the entire stadium.

Zhejiang has now lost six out their last eight are currently out of playoffs sitting in ninth place.

–Jon Pastuszek

Box Score

Jiangsu – 97 @ Beijing – 116

Jiangsu remains winless on the road and Beijing continues to take steps to lock up the No. 2 seed with plenty of time to spare in the 2011-12 season. Zhai Xiaochuan set a career high with 25 points, a nice accomplishment that was only made nicer by the 12 rebounds he snagged. As they have for most of the year, Beijing got it done with balanced scoring as five players put in double-digit point totals.

Still on the shelf with injuries, Chen Lei an Lee Hsueh-lin did not play. But their returns are expected within a week or two and when they do finally hit the court, they’ll give the Ducks a much needed boost in depth that they sorely lack at the moment.

Box Score

Shanxi – 110 @ Shandong – 125

The Brave Dragons’ Year of the Dragon got off to a terrible start in Shandong after they lost in convincing fashion to team all but mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. In one of the rare games where you’ll see both teams trot out an all Chinese lineup for the first quarter, Shanxi went into the intermission down 16 points before scurrying into the locker room at halftime down 25. Shandong’s Wu Ke, who is averaging 8.5 points on the season, looked like a superstar with a highly efficient 25 points on 7-11 shooting and 13 rebounds. Alan Anderson had 21 and Othello Hunter pitched with a double-double of 19 and 12.

–Jon Pastuzsek

Box Score

Foshan – 94 @ Xinjiang – 103

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Jilin – 94 @ Guangdong – 107

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Qingdao – 103 @ Bayi – 91

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While other teams were either on vacation or doing two-a-day practices during the Spring Festival, Tianjin Ronggang used the period to welcome back a familiar foreigner to the team.

In a move that was rumored for a while before officially coming to fruition just before the holiday, Tianjin released center David Harrison and signed forward Herve Lamizana as his replacement. This will be Lamizana’s fifth year in China and third with Tianjin. He played with Shandong for two seasons from 2006-08 before signing with Tianjin for both the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons.

In 24 games, Harrison averaged 15.5 points and 10.3 rebounds per game.

The timing of the move is odd. With a mere eight games left in the season, Tianjin is currently in 14th place with an 8-17 record and has no chance of making the post-season. Officially, team representatives are saying that the season ending injury to Asian import guard Rony Fahed, who broke his second, third and fourth metatarsal on his right hand in a game against Shanghai on December 28th, left the team without a reliable ball-handler. Lamizana, a versatile forward who plays on the perimeter, can help to offset that issue. Though Tianjin was in search of a new import after Fahed’s injury, they were initially optimistic that his hand would heal by the Spring Festival.

The hand did not heal, however, and the team was forced to make a move. Tianjin has gone 3-6 since Fahed has gone out of the lineup.

But even more odd than the timing is the decision to bring back Lamizana himself. After playing a full season for Tianjin in 2009-10, Lamizana came back last season to play under head coach Bob MacKinnon Jr. Playing alongside Lee Benson, the two never meshed with either each other or their Chinese teammates and the team managed only four wins in their first 26 games.

During Tianjin’s 27th game of the season, a road game against Shandong, Lamizana went 7-20 with 16 points and nine rebounds in a 97-87 loss. After the game, Tianjin announced that Lamizana would be released from the team immediately and gave no official explanation as to why.

Though Tianjin still hasn’t commented on the reason, Chinese media wrote that team management became convinced that Lamizana purposely threw the game for money so that his old team could make a final push for the playoffs.

Though it still floats around in Chinese basketball circles today, the rumor has never been officially proven. And with Lamizana now back to Tianjin, it seems as if the team doesn’t have much time for that story either.

Last year, Lamizana 24.4 points, 10.4 rebounds, 1. 9 steals and 3.6 blocks. He is currently tied for the CBA single game blocks record with Yao Ming and Sean Williams with 13.

Round 26: (January 18th)

Zhejiang – 92 @ Beijing – 103

Stephon Marbury put down arguably the best single-game performance of the season — and his case for CBA MVP — with a super efficient 45 point, 12 rebound, 11 assist triple-double as the Ducks took out J.R. Smith and the visiting Golden Bulls in Beijing.

Losing by five heading into the fourth quarter, Beijing outscored their opponents 28-14 to snatch the win. Much of that was through Marbury, who put in two separate personal runs of five and seven straight points. Marbury, who played 43 minutes in all, turned the ball over only once, shooting 15-29 from the field and 10-12 from the free-throw line.

J.R. had himself a nice individual game with 39 points and eight rebounds, but only finished with one assist.

–Jon Pastuszek

Box Score

Guangdong – 100 @ Guangsha – 97

Once considered title contenders, Guangsha slipped further down the standings after losing their sixth in seven games, with the latest loss being dealt by league powerhouse, Guangdong.

Up for most of the first half, Guangsha seemed poised to put their string of bad results behind them. But, Guangdong came out firing in the third quarter with 38 points to put them up by a comfortable margin before the home team made it slightly interesting in the fourth. Wilson Chandler continued his offense anemia, shooting a ghastly 1-10 from three en route to a ho-hum 24 points.

Aaron Brooks finished as Guangdong’s high scorer with 26, while Wang Shipeng and Zhu Fangyu did their job offensively with 24 and 23 points respectively.

With the win, Guangdong becomes the first team to clinch a playoff spot and once again look like the strong favorites to win the title.

–Jon Pastuszek

Box Score

DongGuan – 97 @ Shanghai – 110

For now at least, normal service at the Yuanshen has been resumed as the Shanghai Sharks eased to victory over the DongGuan Leopards. Mike Harris returned to the line-up after the death of his brother and conjured up a sensation performance to help Shanghai beat their guests, 110-97. The away side struggled to contain their hosts’ forwards and Shavlik Randolph failed to get any momentum going in a game where he was mercilessly heckled by the home crowd from start to finish. The Sharks keep their winning record going into the New Year break and now stand at 13-11 with eight games to go in the regular season.

To top of an emotional night, a last-second substitution allowed Harris to get an ovation from the crowd, the coaching staff and the owner himself, Yao Ming as the game clocked faded to zero. The returning Sharks forward had picked up 38 points and 12 rebounds while Marcus Landry (24), Liu Wei (18) and Liu Ziqiu (14) also had themselves double-digit shooting nights. For DongGuan, five Leopards players also got significant hauls; Josh Akognon (24 points), Randolph (23), Qiu Biao (15), Qu Guan (11) and Zhang Kai (10).

In his press conference after the game, Dan Panaggio was keen to congratulate Harris on his gutsy performance, noting that the forward had arrived back in Shanghai at around 3:30pm that day and had got himself to the game 30 minutes before the tip-off. ‘He just wanted to get back to his team’, added the Sharks coach, before revealing that Zhang Zhaoxu had persuaded him to sub Harris off so that the American could get his ovation from the crowd. Equally, Panaggio looked relieved to have got the victory to keep the Sharks in contention for a play-off spot but was also keen to stress that there was still several crucial games to come once the season restarts on January 29th. ‘I’m grateful to have won this game…but our job is still in front of us and it is a difficult one’.

– Andrew Crawford

Box Score

Xinjiang – 98 @ Shandong – 104

The Flying Tigers made it 0-2 on their two-game Shandong roadtrip, losing to a struggling Shandong team three days after getting spanked by Qingdao. Xirelijiang, who kept Alan Anderson under 10 points in the two team’s first encounter earlier in the year, wasn’t given a chance to guard the former Michigan State standout and Anderson responded with 32 rather effortless points. Othello Hunter pitched in with 22 points and 10 boards.

It was Xinjiang’s 11th road loss of the year, tying them for the worst road record in the league.

–Jon Pastuszek

Box Score

Liaoning – 91 @ Jilin – 99

Liaoning’s inconsistency reared its ugly head again in Jilin after the Jaguars came up empty against non-playoff outfit Jilin on the road. Cartier Martin did it to the visitors with 38 points and seven rebounds. Osama Dahglas nearly missed out on a triple-double, going for 15 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists.

Josh Powell, who has been the subject of constant rumors the last couple of weeks, managed only two points and nine rebounds. Though Liaoning has one of the more talented domestic rosters, they’ll need much more from their American big man if they’re to have any shot of advancing in the post-season in March.

–Jon Pastuszek

Box Score

Shanxi – 110 @ Qingdao – 106

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Bayi – 98 @ Tianjin – 110

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Fujian – 110 @ Foshan – 100

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Round 4 Make-Ups (January 20th)

Zhejiang @ Xinjiang

Xinjiang and Zhejiang played a very physical and intense match that ended with Xinjiang coming out on top. Gani Lawal, who sat for most of the first half after the Flying Tigers got off to a slow start offensively, came back with a vengeance and then some in the second, scoring 20 points and grabbing 21 rebounds, 14 of which came on the offensive end, in just 28 minutes. Tim Pickett had a nice game as well, finishing with 32-6-6.

Entertaining throughout, the game ultimately unraveled in the end for Chouzhou because Josh Boone and J.R. Smith both fouled out with over four minutes to play in the fourth quarter, the latter fouling out on an offensive foul. Frustrated at the referees, who let a lot of physical play under the basket slide, Smith whipped the basketball at the nearest referee, which resulted in his second technical of the game. He got his first earlier in the third quarter after he jawed back and forth with Lawal. Smith had a number of incredible individual plays, including an off-the-wrong-foot slam that he powered home after dismissing three defenders with a slick crossover. He finished with 41 points, but came up goose eggs in the assist department.

–Jon Pastuszek

Box Score (Chinese)

Bayi – 105 @ Shanxi – 109

Box Score (Chinese)

The NiuBBall water cooler/heater: Where you can chat with friends about hoops while sipping either hot or cold water.

This chat originally appeared on Shark Fin Hoops.

With the Chinese New Year about to start, its time to talk losing streaks, play off places, JR Smith and hometown bad ass players in another installment of the CBA Water Cooler, where you can have your water hot or cold. Edward Bothfeld and Andrew Crawford break it down.

Andrew Crawford: Well it looks like both our teams are in spectacular funks right now. Shanghai are on a three game losing streak whilst the Lions are in the same situation but with four games down the toilet, right?

Edward Bothfeld: There’s lot’s of struggles all around. I’m starting to worry about Guangsha’s funk. I sit in the first row behind the bench at their home games and they are having trouble playing as a team. I think Wilson [Chandler] and PJ [Ramos] are frustrated that they are relied upon so heavily and I also have a feeling that Wilson is battling some nagging injuries and wants to stay healthy for the NBA season, because let’s face it, he has millions of reasons to be cautious.

AC: For sure. Is the crowd starting to turn on their team or is everyone still singing from the same hymn sheet?

EB: Their last home game was a week ago so we’ll see when they get back. The GM, Ye Xiangyu, who is the very feisty looking woman who sits on their bench, is also very frustrated.

AC: What can Coach Cleamons do to change things; by the sound of things, its down to the players now?

EB: The Chinese players need to play with more confidence instead of when they get behind in a game, praying that Wilson and PJ can bring them back. Jin Lipeng has been out and Lin Chih-chieh hasn’t been able to hit the broad side of a barn recently.

AC: Shanghai are in a similar bad situation, although two of those losses were on the road and the other was against Guangdong. You’ve seen the Sharks move up from the bottom end of the table- do you think this is it for them now or can they still make the play offs?

EB: I think they will make it. I’m sure Marcus Landry is still jet lagged and he and his new team still need to learn to play together. Also, is Mike Harris is injured?

AC: There was a death in his family. It happened before the Jilin game and he didn’t tell anyone and played on. He went home before the Guangdong game.

EB: Any word when he is coming back?

AC: I got the impression he will be back for Dongguan but whenever he does, the crowd will be vocal. They love him in the Yuanshen and something like a death in the family puts everything in perspective. They’ll probably cheer him everytime he touches the ball.

This probably has relevancy to the NBA in its reduced formwat this season too, but previously high-flying teams like Beijing are still in erratic form and now Guangsha and Shanghai are in real lulls- what do you think spark these runs or is every case unique?

EB: Teams become complacent, and their opponents have a chance to do a lot of scouting and watch a lot of tape. Then there are injuries. Its the ups and downs of a basketball season, which is why it’s so exciting.

AC: Well, not if you a Guanghsa, Beijing or Shanghai fan. These next few games are going to be painful. Looking at the play-off run in, who do you think we should look out for besides the obvious names to make the play offs?

EB: Firstly, wouldn’t it be wild if after all the pre-season and early season talk, Xinjiang missed out?

AC: For sure. I don’t think they can ride that home record to a top eight finish place. They might not make it unless they become a bit more ruthless on the road.

EB: I also think Qingdao will make it behind Lester Hudson, but that’s a hunch. I think they’ll overhaul Fujian and contend for one of the top spots.

AC: That’s a interesting call. I don’t want to sound like a bandwagon jumper but Hudson and Osama Daghlas look excellent when they get going. For what its worth, I think Shanxi look legit as well. I think they’ll be trouble for anyone if they get in. I know they’ve got a crazy owner and a slight reliance on their two Americans but they are seriously slick.

EB: Shanxi will make it, but Marcus Williams deserves a lot of the credit this season. He has been unbelievably efficient this season. I have to look twice at his gamelog because I’m curious if it’s even real, but he’s shooting over 80% from three and and 67% on all other FGs according to eurobasket.

AC: Yeah, I had a look myself recently. Its NBA Jam-esqe stuff. Do you think Zhejiang Bulls are going to get a spot?

EB: I think they will but Smith, like Chandler, is another player I would watch as the end of the CBA season approaches and they return to the NBA- he needs to stay healthy to get that next contract. He probably won’t be doing anything too wild now, especially with his sister getting into an altercation recently.

AC: Yeah, i saw it. I think it was interesting that JR Smith has got himself all this attention. It hasn’t felt like K-Mart and Chandler have all this exposure. There does seem to be a bit of a circus going on whenever JR is involved.

EB: Kinda represents his style of play and his erratic way of doing things. He’s just a crazy dude.

AC: When Smith leaves, I think his departure will put a dozen writers out of work. There seems to be a cottage industry based around churning out stories about ‘ JR Smith doing [x]‘. Could the club have protected him more or is this just ”JR being JR’, so to speak?

EB: They probably should have had some preventative measures in place. If they did their homework on him, they would know that he attracts a lot of attention

AC: Alright, last question. Last night, James Singleton decided he was going to bait a capacity Yuanshen crowd in the final quarter of the game and seemed to be revelling in the boos like a heel in a WWE event. For your money, who is the best or most notable villain in the CBA?

EB: I can’t remember who it was, but one of Shanghai’s Chinese players was doing the cocking motion (as if he had a gun) after making a shot, and then putting his hand to his ear because he wanted to hear the crowd.

AC: I’m still really curious to work out who that Shanghai player was. They all seem like such nice young boys who’d help old ladies across the road and always open doors for people. It wasn’t a small guard with light hair and a hefty fringe was it? [I'm thinking of Meng Lingyuan because this sounds exactly like the sort of thing he'd could do when he gets his obligatory fourth quarter adrenaline rush- AC]

EB: I don’t think so. The crowd absolutely hated your short bald guy, although I might be totally wrong and it could have been in the previous game.

AC: I think so – all of our guys are impressively hirsute; they’ve all got the regulation floppy cut. It’s like a K-Pop band strolled out onto the court at times [It is probably Shandong Lions, who were the previous visitors to Hangzhou before Shanghai came to town. The player in question is Sun Jie, who is unquestionably a pest of a player- AC].

EB: On the flipside, PJ is fantastic at getting the crowd going. He will flex and shout after a dunk, and wave his hands in the air to get the crowd on its feet.

AC: I think its written into Harris’ contract that he has to do the same in Shanghai. Tseng Wen-ting is also a kind of a cult hero here. He’s a towering bear of a man with a huge ponytail, massive beard and a nice line in dropping big threes. Its a shame he’s such a nice guy because when you look like Genghis Khan, which he absolutely does, I’d like to see him indulge in some merciless posterising of unsuspecting opposition players and other general bad ass’ery. That said, I also absolutely think its Ramos’ destiny to stay in the CBA and blossom into this force of nature who doesn’t care about what you think. It would be fantastic; baiting crowds, shouting the odds, dunking on people because he can- marvelous.

EB: I don’t think he has any intentions of trying to make it in the NBA, and I’ve been told he could definitely make a team but that he likes it here [in Hangzhou].

AC: Lets hope Ramos is still flexing the guns and terrifying away fans for years to come. Anyway, last week it was cheerleaders, this week its James Singleton and PJ Ramos. Times changes real quick. Have a good holiday, sir.

EB: Thanks. You too.

DongGuan – 101 @ Foshan – 99

The Leopards stayed in second place thanks to 40 points from Josh Akognon, 23 from Shavlik Randolph… and a translating error from Foshan.

With the shot clock off in the fourth quarter, the Dralions saw themselves down two with the ball. Foshan head coach, Jay Humphries Shi Liping, called a time-out to draw up a a last second play. The Dralions came out of the huddle and went pick-and-roll for Michael Maadanly, a play which resulted in a miss and ultimately the loss. But after the game, Humphries Shi told reporters that his team wasn’t supposed to run pick-and-roll — instead, Maadanly was supposed to pass to Marcus Haislip for the game winning shot — and blamed the miscommunication on the team’s translator.

–Jon Pastuszek

Box Score

Guangsha – 92 @ Liaoning – 106

How do you follow up a season low 12 point performance on Friday night? If you’re Wilson Chandler, you kick up a notch with an eight point Sunday night on 3-12 shooting. The loss is Guangsha’s fourth in a row, a particularly head scratching development after the team had beaten every contending team but Guangdong over the first half of the season.

Rodney Carney had 29 for the winners, who were also helped by 18 points from han Dejun, 15 from Zhang Qingpeng, and 11 each from Liu Shunan, Yang Ming and Li Xiaoxu. Liaoning are now streaking to the tune of three games in a row. Liaoning’s 12-2 home record means that if they can get into the top four, they’ll have a very sizable advantage over their first round opponent.

–Jon Pastuszek

Bayi – 98 @ Beijing – 112

Calling a win against Bayi a “bounce back win” is pretty redundant when almost every team in the league has bounced them around this year, but Beijing did get a much needed victory to keep the pressure on DongGuan in second place.

Randolph Morris lead all Duck scorers with 27, rookie Zhu Yanxi hit for 25, and Stephon Marbury ran wild with 24 points and 10 assists on only one turnover. Perhaps in a move aimed to save their best guns for another day, Bayi head coach Adijiang rotated 11 players, choosing to rest key starters Zhang Bo and Han Shuo for their upcoming game on Wednesday against 16th place Tianjin. In 26 minutes, Wang Zhizhi scored 27 and grabbed nine boards.

–Jon Pastuszek

Box Score

Guangdong – 101 @ Shanghai – 85

Despite the noise from packed Yuanshen Gymnasium and a frisky first-half performance, the Shanghai Sharks couldn’t pull off an upset victory against the Guangdong Tigers. With Mike Harris out of the line up due to family reasons, the Sharks needed maximum focus from their remaining squad but after a solid start, but Shanghai condemned themselves to another defeat after a poor third quarter allowed the Tigers take control before going on to win by the resounding margin of 101-85.

By the start of the fourth quarter, the one-two punch of Zhu Fangyu and James Singleton had opened up a twenty point lead. The Sharks were fighting to keep their heads above the water and Guangdong’s 80-60 lead underlined the Tigers’ dominance. A furious Shanghai rally at the start of the quarter, led by Liu Wei’s 10 point flurry only served to enrage the champions further, and Singleton went on a mini-scoring spree of his own to punish the Sharks for their obstinacy. The former Clippers/Mavericks/Wizards forward had no qualms with baiting the crowd and at one point gestured to the Yuanshen to keep on booing him after perfectly sinking a brace of free-throws, neatly reflecting both the ruthlessness and swagger of the champions’ performance.

The final buzzer rang shortly afterwards and sparred the Sharks any further embarrassment considering that the scoreboard was already at 101-85 to Guangdong. For the Tigers, Singleton earned himself a double-double (27 points, 10 rebounds), as did Zhou Peng (16 points, 10 rebounds) whilst Zhu (21) and Aaron Brooks (17) made it into double figures from the floor. Marcus Landry made 23, Liu got 19 and Tseng Wen-ting picked up 15 but once again, Shanghai were kicking themselves after another bad third quarter and the Sharks’ losing streak now stands at three-in-a-row.

–Andrew Crawford

Xinjiang – 97 @ Qingdao – 115

Xinjiang’s miserable season continued with a miserable loss on the road to Qingdao, pushing their miserable road record to 3-10. Lester Hudson contributed the most to the Flying Tigers’ sorry performance on both ends of the court by baptizing their entire backcourt with nine splashes from downtown en route to 41 points overall. Playing against his former team, Xue Yuyang also got into the act by netting 20 points, 12 of which came from behind the arc.

The Flying Tigers have been simply atrocious on defense recently, giving up 100 or more points in four of their last five games. Forget championship, now officially out of a playoff position at 11-11, they’ll need to fix things up on that side of the ball if they even want to make the playoffs in March.

–Jon Pastuszek

Box Score

Tianjin – 102 @ Shanxi – 119

Box Score

Shandong – 95 @ Fujian – 116

Box Score

Jiangsu – 93 @ Zhejiang – 116

Box Score

Beijing – 111 @ Shanxi – 114

Stephon Marbury’s return to his Chinese “hometown” of Taiyuan was spoiled by an unusually balanced effort from the Brave Dragons, who had five players score in double figures. Charles Gaines paced the home squad with 28 points and 14 rebounds, while Marcus Williams and Lu Xiaoming each pitched in with 19 points and five assists.

Marbury, who played his first season with Shanxi two seasons ago, scored 22 points and handed out six assists. But a slow start that saw the Ducks down 14 at the half ultimately doomed them as they failed to come back despite a strong third quarter. Randolph Morris lead the way for Beijing, scoring 32, most of which came at the free-throw line, and grabbing 11 rebounds. Chen Lei, who is nursing an injury from earlier this month, only played four minutes.

The loss is Beijing’s eighth in the last 10 games.

–Jon Pastuszek

Box Score

Guangdong – 133 @ Foshan – 124

While Guangsha and Beijing slip down the standings after strong starts to the season, Guangdong continues to play itself into form after winning its fourth straight game at the hands of inter-province rival, Foshan. The visiting Souther Tigers shot a blistering 46-80 from the field as six players scored 10 or more points. Aaron Brooks had a team high 31 points.

Foshan’s Michael Maddanly put in a CBA career high 42 and Marcus Douthit scored 30. With the win, Guangdong goes to 19-4 on the year and now holds a comfortable four game lead over second place DongGuan.

–Jon Pastuszek

Box Score

Shanghai – 84 @ Liaoning – 93

The Shanghai Sharks gave up their first sweep of the season. Having lost at home to the Liaoning Jaguars in December, they got the same treatment when they played the reverse tie in Benxi. Like the last time the Sharks encountered their hosts, the Jaguars were slick, ruthless and more than willing to pass the ball around as Shanghai tried but failed to keep up with the home side’s offence. The 93-84 loss means that the Sharks road record now stands at 3-9.

The Sharks went in at half-time in the lead thanks to a strong showing by Marcus Landry in the first quarter but after that, the deafening Tiexi crowd helped pull the Jaguars out of their funk and when Josh Powell appeared from the bench, things started to click for the home side in the third quarter. Shanghai stuck with it and kept on fighting until the final buzzer but the Liaoning offence simply too much to contain for the visiting Sharks team.

Zhang Qingpeng scored 20 points while Powell grabbed a double-double of 19 points and 12 rebounds. For the Sharks, Mike Harris made 30 points, Landry picked up 21 and Zhang Zhaoxu scrapped his way to 11.

–Andrew Crawford

Box Score

Tianjin – 112 @ Xinjiang – 134

Tim Pickett exploded for 36 points in the first half to finish with 55 points and 12 rebounds in an entertaining affair in Urumqi that ended with a much needed win for the Flying Tigers. Picket’s double-nickel is the second highest single-game tally of the season, two points behind J.R. Smith’s 57. The home win ended a three game losing streak for Xinjiang and puts them at 11-10 on the year.

With Tianjin’s Lebanese point guard, Rony Fahed, out for the year with a broken hand, it was up to Tianjin’s domestic players to guard Pickett. They failed miserably as Pickett came in midway through the first quarter with an aggressive mindset that saw him on constant attack. He missed only two shots the entire first half and through Pickett, Xinjiang built up a big halftime lead. It’s Xinjiang’s biggest win of the season and by far the most points they’ve put up all year. Gani Lawal played well with 25 points and 10 rebounds. Xirelijiang, who celebrated his birthday with the win, contributed with 16 points on 4-8 from three.

–Jon Pastuszek

Box Score

Guangsha – 74 @ Jilin – 93

Wilson Chandler scored a CBA career low 12 points and Guangsha was held to under 100 points for the fifth straight game in a surprising road loss to sub-.500 Jilin. The loss is the Lions’ third in their last four and puts them back into the multi-team crowd that is clogging up the playoff picture. At present, they are tied in the loss column at eight with Beijing and DongGuan.

Osama Dahglas went for 25 points, 13 rebounds and five assists, Lu Wei scored 20, Jameel Watkins saw double with 19 and 15 boards and Cartier Martin put in 18 points.

–Jon Pastuszek

Box Score

Shandong – 89 @ DongGuan – 95

Box Score

Bayi – 94 @ Jiangsu – 112

Box Score

Qingdao – 110 @ Fujian – 104

Box Score

Beijing – 87 @ Shanghai – 96

The city of Shanghai got exactly what it wanted this Christmas as it’s basketball team defeated the Beijing Ducks in a gritty, compelling match that saw both sides have their chances to win the game. Beijing had the lead going into the fourth quarter but a comeback win was made possible when Ryan Forehan-Kelly helped eat up the seven-point deficit before Mike Harris almost tore the rim down with a go-ahead dunk, before the Sharks made the win safe with cooly taken chances on the fast break.

Three Shark players got themselves double-doubles; Forehan-Kelly (25 points; 13 rebounds), Harris (21 points; 13 rebounds) and Zhang (16 points; 13 rebounds), whilst for Beijing, Randolph Randolph scored a game high 26 points and Stephon Marbury got a double-double of his own, racking up 13 points and 11 rebounds.

–Andrew Crawford, Shark Fin Hoops

Box Score

Shanxi – 106 @ Guangdong – 111

Guangdong survived a home scare against always dangerous Shanxi. Down 109-106 with 17 seconds left, Guangdong’s Chen Jianghua went to the line with a chance to put the game on ice. He missed both, but unfortunately for the visitors, Charles Gaines missed the rebound and turned the ball over right back to the home squad. Zhu Fangyu followed by hitting both of his free-throws to put the game out of reach to give Guangdong their 12th win of the year.

James Singleton put up 20 points and 17 rebounds, Aaron Brooks dropped 21 and Zhu Fangyu and Wang Shipeng each contributed 15. The super foreign combo of Gaines and Marcus Williams each scored 35 points, but the team got little from anyone else, including the game’s biggest offender, Duan Jiangpeng, who was bottled up for just four points in 40 minutes.

–Jon Pastuszek

Box Score

Xinjiang – 90 @ DongGuan – 97

Life after Bob Donewald and Kenyon Martin took on an added obstacle on Sunday night as Patty Mills, the team’s lone import at the moment, sat out with a hamstring injury. Playing with an all-Chinese lineup, the Flying Tigers put up a good fight in DongGuan and even took the lead in the second half. But ultimately, the lack of a true point guard came back to get them in the end as Xinjiang turned the ball over 21 times, including a few crucial ones down the stretch, resulting in their second straight loss in Guangdong province.

Josh Akognon scored a game high 24 points, Shavlik Randolph added 17 and Qiu Biao had 15 for the Leopards, who move into sixth place with an 8-7 record. Xinjiang’s consolation may have been Tang Zhengdong, who had his strongest game of the year with 17 points and 12 rebounds.

–Jon Pastuszek

Box Score

Qingdao – 100 @ Shandong – 94

We’re not so much shocked by the fact that the Lester Hudsons Eagles won a game on the road, but rather that they won with three non-Hudsons (Olumide Oyedeji, Xue Yuyang and Li Gen) scoring more than 15 points.

–Jon Pastuszek

Box Score

Jiangsu – 99 @ Guangsha – 106

Box Score

Zhejiang – 90 @ Jilin – 100

Box Score

Bayi – 84 @ Liaoning – 103

–Jon Pastuszek

Box Score

Tianjin – 108 @ Foshan – 93

Box Score

Shanxi – 112 @ Guangsha – 126

For a full report, check out Edward Bothfeld’s recap from Hangzhou.

DongGuan – 104 @ Guangdong – 128

Aaron Brooks had 27 points, 6 rebounds and 10 assists to check in his best all-around performance in China this season as the Southern Tigers cruised past the Leopards in their DongGuan derby match-up. James Singleton added a double-double of his own with 24 points and 10 rebounds. The Tigers raced out to a big lead early and never looked back, using 14 threes to bury their opponents. It’s their seventh straight win of the season.

–Jon Pastuszek

Qingdao – 97 @ Beijing – 105

Beijing moved closer to an unblemished first half of the season record by beating Qingdao at home. Stephon Marbury and Randolph Morris combined for 58 points, Rookie of the Year candidate Zhu Yanxi had 13 and Zhai Xiaochuan chipped in with 10.  The Eagles went 8 of 35 from three, a performance which could mostly be attributed to Lester Hudson’s 5 of 18 bricklayer’s convention. With Xinjiang, Guangdong and Zhejiang Chouzhou all out of the way, Beijing stands an excellent chance of running the table for CBA’s first rotation through the schedule.

–Jon Pastuszek

Jilin – 89 @ Xinjiang – 94

Xinjiang once again started out of the gates slow, and once again found themselves down in the fourth quarter. But, unlike games against Beijing, Shanghai and Guangsha, the Flying Tigers dug deep and came up with a victory down the stretch to avoid what would have been a three-game losing streak. Patty Mills came up with several huge shots in the fourth and finished with a team high 26 points. Mengke Bateer, limited by illness, only played 22 minutes and scored 6 points and 6 rebounds. But Tang Zhengdong, who has disappointed for most of the season, came up with 16 big points to fill in.

But, the win was just a minor story in Urumqi as the team announced that head coach, Bob Donewald Jr., had been replaced by the man he replaced in the offseason, Jiang Xingquan. Chants of “Denghuade, xia ke!” (Fire Donewald!) boomed through the arena for most of the game and grew the loudest in the second half when Xinjiang lost the lead. For a full write-up, read this.

On a side note: Osama Dahglas played all 48 minutes, which meant that once again, Yu Shulong sat on the bench for the entire game.

–Jon Pastuszek

Shanghai -94 @ Bayi – 85

Shanghai’s American duo of Mike Harris and Ryan Forehan-Kelly lead their club to a form-defying win over Bayi, that was also their first away win of the season. The Sharks started brightly only to find themselves pushed and knocked around a Bayi side that didn’t care much for subtleties. Some in-your-face, physical basketball unsettled the Sharks, who threw away a halftime lead of 14 points in the third quarter before Harris and RFK came storming back to exploit some glaring holes in the Rockets backcourt and put the game to bed.

Fujian – 94 @ Liaoning – 108

Foshan – 96 @ Zhejiang – 103

Shandong – 99 @ Jiangsu – 91

Xinjiang – 92 @ Guangsha – 102

Xinjiang, coming fresh off a disappointing loss on the road against Shanghai in Round 11, failed to come up with a bounce back win in Hangzhou on Friday night, losing to Guangsha in a game that was never really in doubt. The loss brings Xinjiang down to a disappointing 6-4 start to the year, and it also marks the team’s first losing streak in five years.

Besides featuring a clash between two three loss teams, the match-up also pitted former Denver Nuggets teammates, Wilson Chandler and Kenyon Martin, against each other. In the fourth quarter the two guarded each other for most of the frame. K-Mart made nothing easy for Chandler, forcing him into to several tough shots, some of which the talented forward made and some of which he missed. Chandler finished with 31 points and 13 rebounds on 11-28 shooting. Six players for Guangsha finished in double figures, including P.J. Ramos who finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

For Xinjiang, Patty Mills did all he could with a game-high 39 points and 6 steals, but he didn’t get much help elsewhere. Xu Guozhong had 17 points, most of which came via Mengke Bateer’s precise passing from the post (11 assists) and Xirelijiang had 10, but the Flying Tigers struggled to get double-digit production from elsewhere.

–Jon Pastuszek

Shanxi – 90 @ Shanghai – 92

Zhejiang Chouzhou – 94 @ Shandong – 107

–Jon Pastuszek

Fujian – 82 @ Jilin – 90

Foshan – 96 @ Bayi – 101

Jiangsu – 86 @ Qingdao – 103

*Note that the highly complicated methods that comprise these rankings do not factor in the results of Round 8, which was played on Tuesday and Wednesday night. These are as of Round 7, December 4th.

1. Beijing Shougang Ducks (7-0)

Last week — 1: Last week, perhaps the argument could have been made we were hopping on the Ducks bandwagon a little too soon. And we really stress the word “could,” since they won on the road at four-time defending champion Guangdong. After following that up with home win against three-time runner-up, Xinjiang, their spot at the top is now indisputable. But it’s not by any means permanent — Beijing’s next four games are on the road, including a Friday match-up against J.R. Smith and the 4-1 Golden Bulls.

2. Guangdong Hongyuan Southern Tigers (5-2)

LW – 2: Guangdong, who like Xinjiang, hardly ever loses in the regular season, already has two more ticks in that column than most people thought they would this early in the year. And yet, we are still taking the champs’ word for it, despite issues surrounding Aaron Brooks so far unsuccessful integration into the lineup. Given the Southern Tigers’ winning ways over the years, we think he’ll come around eventually. Until he does though, and until the team stops losing games to Qingdao, Guangdong is riding shotgun to Beijing.

3. Xinjiang Guanghui Flying Tigers (3-2)

LW – 3: The two losses don’t concern us as much as the lack of production Xinjiang has been getting from two of the three expensive Chinese players who transfered in this summer, Tang Zhengdong and Chao Yonggang. Tang, who’s knee is obviously not healthy, is now out with an ankle injury. Chao is averaging three points a game. K-Mart’s near 20-20s and Patty Mills’ offensive explosions are all fine and well, but if Xinjiang is to win a title this year, they need more from their local guys.

4. Zhejiang Chouzhou Golden Bulls (4-1)

LW – 9: Winners of four straight, the Golden Bulls find themselves back in the position we originally marked them down in before the season started. A lot of that has to do with J.R. Smith. 52 points (11-15 from three), 22 rebounds and 7 steals against Bayi and 32 the game before against Shanxi has his scoring average up to over 27 a game, good for fourth in the league. That number is bound to go up when J.R. figures out how to get some easier shots for himself (only 40% from two-point range).

5. Zhejiang Guangsha Lions  (4-2)

LW – 4: Peter John Ramos is back and up to his old tricks (20 points and 15.5 rebounds in two games), great news for Guangsha who were getting absolutely zilch from the guy he replaced, Dwyane Jones. A huge game on the road against Guangdong will tell us if Ramos’ return to his old home of Hangzhou makes the newly Wilson Chandler-lead Lions legitimate contenders this year.

6. Bayi Fubang Rockets (3-2)

LW – 10: In our eyes, there’s a big drop off after number five — not necessarily a bad thing when you consider that the CBA has enjoyed Grand Canyon-esque rifts between the have and have-nots since its inception in 1995. And speaking of have and have-nots, the Rockets have won every game at home (3-0). They have not won one game away (0-2). That trend won’t continue along that extreme line, but the Army’s home/away discrepancy, much like last year, will be something to keep an eye on.

7. Liaoning Hengye Jaguars (3-4)

LW – 11: Yeah, you’re in the playoffs, Liaoning, but it’s tough for us to excited about a team that can’t put together back-to-back wins. Since opening up his Sina Weibo account last week, Zhang Qingpeng is averaging 12 points a game. The lesson: opening up a Sina Weibo has only a minimal effect on struggling players. Bummer. The bigger bummer here though is Guo Ailun’s scanty 16 minutes per game average so far.

8. Shanxi Zhongyu Brave Dragons (2-3)

LW – 6: Another team with loads of talent that hasn’t been able to win two games in a row. Despite having three studs, Marcus Williams, Charles Gaines and Duan Jiangpeng, the Brave Dragons are always going to be at somewhat of a loss because supporting players Zhang Xuewen, Shang Ping and Liu Shaoming are inconsistent. The roller coaster ride is going to continue, but we still think their Big Three is good enough to get into the post-season.

9. DongGuan New Century Leopards (3-4)

LW – 17: Shame on us for ever doubting Brian Goorjian. The Leopards’ three-game (and nearly four if they didn’t give one away to Beijing in Round 4) win streak is due in big part to Shavlik Randolph’s 25.5 points and 14.3 rebounds over that stretch, but who are we kidding. It’s obviously due to the fact that the entire team posted up last week’s power rankings, which had them last, on their locker-room bulletin board.

10. Fujian SBS Sturgeons (3-4)

LW – 13: Fujian’s on a two game win streak. They have five guys averaging double figures. Will McDonald is having the most underrated season of any foreigner out here (roughly 26 and 10 a night). They have Zaid Abbas. They have, what we think, is a playoff contending team. Trust us, they’ll be right there.


11. Jilin SBT Northeast Tigers (3-4)

LW – 7: Do Chinese coaches have it in for promising Chinese point-guards? Like his young 2010 FIBA World Championship teammate, Guo Ailun, Yu Shulong is collecting splinters. Since the DongBei Tigers have turned the ball over more than 20 times in their last two games, maybe more Yu would be a good thing.

12. Shanghai Dongfang Sharks (2-4)

LW – 15: Just when it looked like our man Andrew Crawford had an article about a three-game win streak in the books, the Sharks went out and got blown out by Liaoning on Sunday. Anyways, we think the Sharks are onto something. Either that our we’re just super biased. But it’s all starting on the defensive end. Mike Harris is leading the league in rebounds, and the team is holding opponents to a stingy 91 points per game so far.

13. Shandong Kingston Gold Lions (3-4)

LW – 5: In his last 79 minutes, Sun Jie has five points. Yeah, five. Definitely not the norm for a guy who is usually on fire from deep. Sun’s alarming recent lack of offense is directly related to the Gold Lions’ even more alarming 89.7 ppg, last in the league. In seven games, they have yet to crack the 100 point mark once, an unsettling statistic in a league that plays with a high pace.

14. Qingdao Double Star Eagles (2-5)

LW – 14: Congrats on beating Guangdong, but it still doesn’t mean Qingdao is a playoff team. It does mean, however, that Lester Hudson can go the heck off from at any given game. And for that reason alone, Qingdao will win some games. But their Chinese talent remains as one of the league’s worst and until they get their import big-man situation settled (Ivan Johnson was the second American sent home this year for the Eagles), they’re going to remain in tough shape.

15. Jiangsu Nangang Dragons (2-5)

LW – 11: By far the most disappointing team of the season, Jiangsu started at four pre-season, dropped to 11 at the first week and is now at lowly 15. As is always the case, the foreigner was blamed first after Dragons management finally got Mardy Collins on a plane back to the States. Jiangsu started slow last year with Ricky Davis before they brought in Antoine Wright as his replacement; is Marcus Williams (the UCONN one) this year’s savior?

16. Tianjin Ronggang Golden Lions (2-5)

LW – 8: Yeah, remember when we had them at number eight last week? Yeah, well we were really, really off on that.


17. Guangdong Foshan Dralions (2-5)

LW – 15: Gerald Green is out and Marcus Haislip is in. It’s not a bad idea at all — Haislip can definitely play — but we wonder if it’s going to be their last. Marcus Douthit has been putting up decent numbers, yet is he the right fit alongside Haislip? This team needs a guard and fast.

Shanxi – 97 @ Beijing – 121

Another round, another win for the Ducks, who are now 7-0 to start the year. Surprisingly though, it’s not Beijing’s best start in franchise history — they went 8-0 in the CBA’s innagural season, 1995-96.

As is becoming a common trend for them at home, the Ducks went to the free-throw line way more times than their opponent, shooting 42 to Shanxi’s 24, which is either a testament to their players’ aggressiveness or to the referees’ friendly home whistle. Randolph Morris finished as the team’s high scorer with 26 points and added 11 points as well. Six players for Beijing scored in double figures.

Shanxi’s Marcus Williams and Charles Gaines combined for 62 points, but their Chinese players only manage to combine for 35 points.

Box Score

–Jon Pastuszek

Xinjiang 121 @ Tianjin 108

Xinjiang got back on a winning track two days after a tough loss against Beijing thanks to two scorching hot performances from Patty Mills and Xu Guozhong. Mills went 8-10 from three, only slightly better than Xu’s 8-11 splash-fest from deep. Even big man Mengke Bateer got into the act, burying 4-11 from long range. Bateer also added 9 assists, which gives him an amazing 25 for his last two games. The seven-footer leads the league in that category with 8 per game.

–Jon Pastuszek

Box Score

Liaoning – 118 @ Shanghai – 99

Box Score

Jilin 89 @ Guangsha – 109

For a full recap, check out Edward Bothfeld’s on-site report from Hangzhou.

Foshan – 92 @ Guangdong – 116

Guangdong – Foshan was the second victim of heavy fog this season after Guangdong couldn’t fly out of Jinan. Originally scheduled for Saturday night, the CBA moved the game until tonight. Aaron Brooks scored a team-high 22 points.

Foshan’s Marcus Haislip scored 22 points in his 2011-12 CBA debut, but the bigger story was that his debut was against the team he helped lift to a championship last season, Guangdong.

Other Scores:

Jiangsu – 97 @ Bayi – 99 (OT)

Box Score

DongGuan 100 @ Shandong 94

Box Score

Fujian – 120 @ Qingdao – 96

Box Score