It is said that Guo Shiqiang hides Xu Jie for the World Cup and Olympics

If you still hold on to the old calendar of "Xu Jie is not as good as Gao Shiyan and Hu Mingxuan", the stumbling victory of the Chinese men's basketball team last night's Asian Cup will sooner or later become the last straw that crushes confidence - this is not a stomping one, but a gap that anyone with discerning eyes can understand in the sun!

Since Xu Jie was eliminated in the final Asian Cup 12, I have always said that Xu Jie may be Guo Shiqiang's overall situation for the 2027 World Cup and the 2028 Olympics, in order to hide Xu Jie's real combat power, and strive to lead the Chinese men's basketball team to improve their performance in the World Cup and Olympics.

But some people always use "Xu Jie is too short" as a shield, saying that he can't stand the confrontation in the international arena. But look at how Gao Shiyan and Hu Mingxuan were on the court last night: the offensive end was like holding a hot potato, and they were either covered or made a mistake when they broke through. They finally ran out of the open position and scored three points and were not touched; when the defense end was passed by the opponent's small defender in one step, the panicked rest defense was not as real as Xu Jie's prediction and steal. In terms of confrontation, Xu Jie had already practiced "loach skills" in the muscle jungle in the CBA. In terms of brain, he could always send the ball to his teammates' most comfortable position in the cracks; in terms of running positions after the pick-and-roll, he could ensure that Hu Jinqiu could eat cakes smoothly under the basket, which is not a skill that the "height theory" can erase.

What is more eye-catching is the playing style. Gao Shiyan's performance last night was a "data collector": he couldn't see his teammates ran out of the open space, and he insisted on transporting the ball to the end of 24 seconds before he took a hasty move, as if the national team's field was his personal show; so was Hu Mingxuan. When Zhao Rui broke through the basket and was blocked, he passed the ball back, but Hu Mingxuan was stunned at the top of the arc waiting for the ball to come to his hand, but was quickly intercepted by his opponent and completed a successful counterattack.

If Gao Shiyan and Hu Mingxuan's balls were replaced by Xu Jie and Xu Jie, he would definitely pass one shot to the downward inside line, and a sudden change of direction to the bottom corner shooter. These creativity of "no-watching passes" are something that Gao Shiyan and Hu Mingxuan would never learn last night's "burning their heads and rushing hard" style.

Stop talking about the absurd words like "Xu Jie scores less". Not to mention that Xu Jie played almost 48 minutes in each game in the third stage of the regular season last season, even in the national team, the real organizational guards have never scored more points, but compared to who can make his teammates better and who can have a better chemical reaction with his teammates. How many times did the Chinese men's basketball offense stagnate last night? How many times did the player stand and watch Gao Shiyan go alone? If it were Xu Jie, those wasted empty opportunities would have long become a refreshing fast break dunk.

Agree, in today's Chinese men's basketball back line, Xu Jie is the scarce product that "plays with his brain" like Zhao Jiwei. Gao Shiyan and Hu Mingxuan's performance last night may be enough, but basketball has never been a sport that only focuses on fighting spirit. When a guard has only the basket but no teammates in his eyes, and when his pass is not as fast as the opponent's defense prediction, such "work" will only make the team pay the price in the more cruel knockout match.

Just like the Liaoning team back then, it was not enough to have Guo Ailun who firmly attacked the basket to drive the climax of the offense. There was also a Zhao Jiwei who controlled the rhythm of offense and defense. What's more, Gao Shiyan and Hu Mingxuan's ability to score at critical moments was still far behind that of Guo Ailun, so Xu Jie must be indispensable.

After all, except Zhao Jiwei, Xu Jie is the best organizational defender among the active players!