In Game 2 of the CBA playoff quarterfinals, Guangsha defeated Shanxi 86-81, but the game was far from a one-sided affair. Shanxi managed to stay close throughout, yet they could never take the lead. In the final quarter, they still had chances, but head coach Pan Jiang’s puzzling rotations proved decisive.
With Hu Jinqiu repeatedly grabbing offensive rebounds, many expected Pan to bring in big man Liu Chuanxing. The camera even focused on Liu on the bench, yet Pan never made the call. Liu played just 7 minutes and scored 6 points—efficient enough. His presence could have helped secure defensive rebounds and possibly swung the outcome. During the regular season, Liu was a regular in the fourth-quarter rotation, but here he was forgotten despite providing positive minutes late in the third and early in the fourth.
Meanwhile, Nate was clearly exhausted from heavy minutes in previous games, and at his age, he couldn’t handle the workload. Guangsha double-teamed him relentlessly, draining his energy further. Despite shooting 0-for-3 and committing three turnovers in 18 minutes, Pan kept him on the floor. When a player isn’t performing, common sense says to sit him, but Pan stuck with a rigid rotation. It’s becoming clear that whenever Nate faces double teams or aggressive defense, he struggles.
This game highlighted Pan’s formulaic approach: he continued using Nate because the foreign assistant coach had found success with him earlier, even when Nate was ineffective. On the other hand, Liu Chuanxing, who had been underutilized, was avoided despite being in good form. Such inflexible adjustments have repeatedly cost Shanxi this season. If Pan could adapt more freely, Shanxi’s position might not be so precarious.