The Chinese men's national basketball team lost their first game in the 2019 NBA Summer League on Friday as they were smashed by the Miami Heat 103-62. A painful loss it was, but there's still something to learn from the game.

Firstly, there's no need to exaggerate the defeat. China did not send their best unit – Yi Jianlian, Guo Ailun and Zai Xiaochuan missed the game because of injuries and Ding Yanyuhang quit in the second quarter after spraining his ankle. After all, attending the Summer League is a drill campaign for China.

Secondly, China had some valuable findings from Friday's game. For example, Wang Zhelin proved that he's the team's best center by putting down 12 points and 14 rebounds, including six on the offensive board. He's one of the few Chinese players who did not fear physical confrontations in the game.

Zhao Jiwei also put on a good performance for head coach Li Nan to see. Though he only got four points, Zhao managed to deliver six assists, which was almost half of China's total of 13. Compared with him, Fang Shuo and Sun Minghui could not even handle the ball well. Wu Qian though buried three 3-pointers in garbage time.

Of course, we could not defend China too much since this is already their biggest loss in the NBA Summer League. The previous biggest margin of 29 points was back in 2007 when the team first played the event, and they even managed to win one of the five games then.

Moreover, the Heat are not even the strongest opponents this time. The biggest name on the court was Tyler Herro, a 19-year-old who has just joined the franchise as the No.13 selectee of the 2019 NBA Draft. However, it was this rookie who made four 3-pointers and claimed 23 points in the game. China will meet the Sacramento Kings on Saturday and they have Marvin Bagley III, the No.2 selectee who got 14.9 points and 7.6 rebounds per game last season and is well-known for his explosive athleticism.

Most Chinese players in the game were very uncomfortable with the intense physical play and the disadvantage in speed, strength and other areas. The team trailed in rebounds (43-32), assists (20-13) and turnovers (18-11). As a result, the players had to watch as the opponents kept launching fast break offense to get easy points.

Coach Li Nan said that his players were way from ready for the game. "When we trailed by 14 points at the beginning, the whole team only committed one foul. We were not aggressive enough. In the first half, we fell into the unfavorable situation in defense, which led to underperformance in offense," said Li.

Wang Zhelin said that China were not used to the pace of the game and the defensive intensity of the NBA, but he believes the team will be able to improve that.

Li pointed out that China needed to get used to the NBA-level game. "I hope that my players can learn how to compete with opponents who are both taller and faster than them under different rules from the CBA. Once you feel comfortable with these rules and the game pace, it will help our team's performance at the Basketball World Cup."