中国男篮世界杯名单出炉：锋无力，缺投手，李楠指导兵行险着

China's head coach Li Nan named the team's final 12-man list for the FIBA Basketball World Cup on Thursday after multiple delays. Zhou Peng, the captain, became the last one to be dropped from the roster because of an injury.

本周四，中国男篮主教练李楠在媒体和球迷千呼万唤之下终于公布参加世界杯的国家队12人大名单。队长周鹏因伤病被迫退出，可兰白克，孙铭徽搭上末班车。

CGTN Photo by Liu Shaozhen, Fan Chenxiao

It's clear that China's biggest advantage with its roster is in the paint. As the team's No. 1 player, Yi Jianlian, has the sickest offensive skills and his attacking range can reach the 3-point line. Meanwhile, Yi's combination of size, strength and quickness enables him to both wrestle with other big men under the rim and patrol around for help on defense.

从阵容上来看，中国队最大的优势仍在内线。作为队内头号球星，易建联拥有极为全面的进攻技术，射程更可远至三分线。而在防守端，集身材，力量，敏捷于一身的“易帝”既能够在篮下与对方内线肉搏，又可以在本方半场不停游走，随时参与协防。

Yi Jianlian of China dunks in the warm-up game against Brazil, August 25, 2019. /VCG Photo

Compared with Yi, Wang Zhelin is China's siege engine. At 2.14-meters tall and weighing 122-kilograms, Wang has already proved that he won't lose in physical battles even with European and American giants. More importantly, his footwork, soft touch and acceptable middle-range shooting give him more choices on offense. Wang's problem is that he is still relatively slow in switch defense and relies on orchestrators to pass the ball to him.

相比之下，王哲林在进攻端更多将起到攻城锤的作用。身高2米14，体重122公斤保证他在与欧美高大内线对位时也丝毫不落下风。同时，“大王”的内线脚步，柔和手感以及自身具备一定中距离威胁都令他在进攻端能够“看人下菜碟”，不至于被人一招封死。当然，王哲林的问题也比较明显，由于体型大，换防时脚步偏慢，此外进攻端也比较依赖队友的传球。

Wang Zhelin #31 of China shoots under defense in the warm-up game against Brazil, August 25, 2019. /VCG Photo

Zhou Qi is the most modern big man of the three. He is tall (2.18 meters), fast, and, with an excellent wingspan of 2.33 meters, he can theoretically pose as a threat from the 3-point line. Zhou, Yi, and Wang have made China's new generation of "Walking Great Wall" on defense. However, lacking strength has become Zhou Qi's biggest shortcoming. With a weight of only 95 kilograms, the 23-year-old cannot pick any fight with those seven-foot (about 2.13 meters) monsters unless he wants to be chewed like a snack. Besides, Zhou still needs to work on his 3-pointers.

中国队的三名内线之中，周琦是最符合现代篮球风格的。拥有2米18的身高，超过大多数内线球员的速度以及2米33的臂展，周琦、易建联和王哲林三人有能力成为中国队历史上新一代“移动长城”。不过力量和对抗依然是“大魔王”的最大短板。对体重仅有95公斤的周琦来说，篮下是洪荒巨兽们厮杀的战场，一旦被卷入，他只会被人“连皮带骨头”一起吞掉。另外，周琦的三分球也还需要继续打磨，神一场鬼一场的表现是无法帮助中国队取胜的。

Zhou Qi of China grabs a rebound in the warm-up game against Puerto Rico, August 12, 2019. /VCG Photo

In the back-court positions, Guo and Zhao should be able to secure two spots in the starting-lineup. As China's best slasher, Guo's penetration and assault against the rim will become the lifeline of the team's offense. By contrast, Zhao, who does not share Guo's athleticism, is China's metronome. His job is to read the game, control the pace and make the most rational decision on the court.

中国队的首发后场组合，不出意外应该是郭艾伦与赵继伟。作为队内最好的突破手，“大侄子”对于对手防线的破坏和对篮筐的冲击可以说是维持男篮进攻的生命线。相比之下，赵继伟虽然没有郭艾伦飞天遁地的运动天赋，但他是中国队无可替代的节拍器，他的工作是阅读比赛，控制节奏，为球队做出最合理的决策。

Guo Ailun of China tries to break defense in the warm-up game against Brazil, August 25, 2019. /VCG Photo

Zhao Jiwei of China handles the ball in the warm-up game against Brazil, August 25, 2019. /VCG Photo

Coach Li must have missed Ding Yanyuhang who was left out from the final list because of an injury. As a result, the forward position has become China's biggest problem. Kyranbek, Zhai, Abudushalamu all work hard enough and can deliver an impressive performance on defense. However, none of them is able to carry the ball and breach the opponent's defense via individual attack like Ding can.

对主教练李楠来说，男篮最大的损失就是没了“四字外援”丁彦雨航。可兰白克，翟小川，阿不都沙拉木等人虽然也都时有不俗的发挥，防守端也堪称悍将。但他们当中没有任何人能像小丁一样凭借个人持球进攻撕开对手防线，由此导致的后果便是，锋线成为了中国男最大的软肋。

Ding Yanyuhang of China makes a layup in the NBA Summer League game against the Sacramento Kings, July 7, 2019. /VCG Photo

That explains why coach Li prefers to put three guards on the court in certain periods of the game. Without enough threat from the two wings, China can only rely on the back-court players to launch an attack. One more guard on the court is one more way to go when the team's offense cannot go on.

也正是因为如此，李楠指导在之前的热身赛上开始多次试验三后卫阵容。由于两翼缺乏足够的进攻威胁，中国队只能更多地依靠后场发起进攻，而多一个后卫在场上就意味着一旦进攻受阻，至少能够从头打起。

The benefit of such arrangement is that China will have better ball movement and more screen play to target on the opponent's big man. Nonetheless, having three guards means at least one of them has to face a mismatch on defense. That is not good news for China because in most cases, foreign players who have the same height and weight are usually stronger and faster, not to mention if they are bigger in size.

三后卫最大的好处在于能够持球发起挡拆的点更多，能够对对方的内线形成更好的针对。但坏处是，三个小后卫里，总有一个要在防守端面对错位。而对中国队来说这绝对不是好消息。通常来说，和欧美球员进行对抗时，中国队员往往要在身高体重都占据优势的情况下对抗才能不落下风。反过来说，在防守比自己大一号的球员时，中国队员多半是要吃大亏的。

The other problem is China's lack of sharp shooters. In multiple warm-up games, the team shot worse than 30 percent or even 20 percent from the 3-point line. That sends the following message to the opponent's defense: 'just close in and focus on guys in the paint, we cannot hurt you out here.' In today's basketball, stretching out the space is one of the most important things on offense but, unfortunately, China has to deal with their defects.

男篮阵容的另一处短板在于缺少投手。在此前的热身赛中，中国队多次投出三分命中率不到三成，甚至低于两成的比赛。这就等于拿着喇叭跟对面说：“收缩死守篮下吧，反正我们外线也扔不进。”在现代篮球里，进攻端最重要的就是拉开空间。很遗憾，中国队，拉不开。

Li Nan, China's head coach, in the warm-up game against Brazil, August 25, 2019. /VCG Photo

Coach Li knows this but there's nothing he can do. According to Chinese basketball commentator Yang Yi, Li wanted to bring China's best shooters, for example, Wu Qian and Chen Linjian, and gave them enough time to prove themselves. However, only one of those shooters could get used to FIBA-level physical competition, not to mention that most of them were not reliable on defense. One thing about professional basketball is that a player has to complete every move under fierce physical engagement. If muscles are unable to stand such competition, player's shooting stance will change, leading him to miss the shots.

李楠指导对这一问题一清二楚，但他也无可奈何。按照知名篮球解说杨毅杨老师的说法，李楠在训练营期间召入了国内最好的投手，比如吴前和陈林坚等人，并且给了他们大把的机会来证明自己。然而，能够习惯国际大赛级别对抗的只有一人，况且大多数投手在防守端都是漏勺。职业篮球要求选手能够在激烈的身体对抗中完成技术动作，而如果选手们的肌肉无法承受这种对抗，他们的投篮姿势就会改变，打铁也就在所难免了。

In the end, Li, who was an elite shooter when he was a player, chose to make the tough call – picking tough defense over shooters.

最终，球员时期因射术精湛，人送外号“小李飞刀”的李楠指导只得忍痛割爱，舍弃三分球，召入更多的防守型球员。

China, as the host of the World Cup, is in Group A with Poland, Venezuela and Cote d'Ivoire. On August 31, they will meet their first opponent Cote d'Ivoire at the Cadillac Arena in Beijing.

男篮世界杯将于8月31日全面开战。东道主中国队分在A组，同组的球队还有波兰、委内瑞拉和科特迪瓦。8月31日晚八点，中国队将在北京五棵松体育馆迎战第一个对手科特迪瓦。