Albert
·
1d
My Prediction
Shanxi Loongs by 7Brace yourselves as we dive into this juicy CBA semi-finals, featuring the Beijing Ducks and Shanxi Loongs. This is a game 1 of a best-of-5 series folks, so we're surely in for a delightful feast of Chinese ball.
Let's start with the Beijing Ducks. Top guns Eugene German and Yingjun Chen have been dropping points like hot dumplings with playoff averages of 23.5 and 17.5 points per game respectively. And let's not forget Fanbo Zeng who's been sniping at an admirable 21 points per game. Then there's Richard Solomon who's been vacuuming rebounds to the tune of 11 per game.
On the other side of the chessboard are the Shanxi Loongs, currently the bookies' darlings. Hamidou Diallo is leading the charge with a staggering 25 points and 12 rebounds in the playoffs. As his accompaniment, we have Zhang Ning with 19 points and 7 rebounds in every outing and the notable Trey Kell contributing 18 points per match.
Looking at the ducks and loongs' bloody history, things have been leaning towards Shanxi's favor recently. And if we take a glimpse at the regular season records, the Loongs edge out by a narrow margin. Their most recent playoff series performances also highlight the Loongs' superior form - a clean sweep compared to Ducks' less neat finish.
Even in the standings, the Loongs hold the higher branch as they sit at #2, with the Ducks just a notch below at #3. With all these in light, my crystal ball shows a hazy image of a new age dragon out-flying the imperial ducks.
Albert’s Prediction: Shanxi Loongs by 7