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CBA rising star Jiang Weize always asks himself to do better
CGTN
Jiang Weize (#11) of the Jilin Northeast Tigers drives toward the rim in the game against the Qingdao Eagles in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province, March 21, 2022. /CFP

Jiang Weize (#11) of the Jilin Northeast Tigers drives toward the rim in the game against the Qingdao Eagles in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province, March 21, 2022. /CFP

The Jilin Northeast Tigers were one of the biggest surprising teams in the 2021-22 CBA season as they upset the Beijing Ducks 2-0 in the first round of the playoffs, pocketing their first postseason win in 6,618 days.

The Northeast Tigers couldn't have done that without the excellent performance of 21-year-old guard Jiang Weize. He has averaged 17.6 points and 3.7 triples, the most among all domestic players, at 40.1 percent. In his fourth season with the team, he has become one of their biggest offensive threats that draw the most defensive attention on the court.

"I think becoming a major defensive target equals approval of my performance," Jiang said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency. "It means I'm making real contributions in the game."

Jiang admitted that he can do better in orchestrating and needs to develop more solutions when the opponents invested the most defensive efforts in containing him.

Jiang Weize (#11) of the Jilin Northeast Tigers shoots in Game 2 of the CBA playoffs against the Beijing Ducks in Nanchang, east China's Jiangxi Province, April 4, 2022. /CFP

Jiang Weize (#11) of the Jilin Northeast Tigers shoots in Game 2 of the CBA playoffs against the Beijing Ducks in Nanchang, east China's Jiangxi Province, April 4, 2022. /CFP

The Northeast Tigers have rarely missed the playoffs but they have been waiting for a win for too long. They ranked 10th in the regular season with a 22-16 record. By contrast, the Ducks were seventh and 22-14. They beat the Northeast Tigers twice with an average of 30 points in the regular season. They have four foreign players while the Northeast Tigers only have one. Many understandably expected the Ducks to win in this matchup.

"We read a lot of comments before the series," Jiang said. "Maybe we seemed like an easy rival for the Ducks. But you could feel it from our daily training and practice that we were all bursting with energy though none of us said anything. We worked hard both in practice and real competitions. In the end, we won."

The Northeast Tigers kept a short rotation of seven or eight players most of the time this season. They had multiple players averaging more than 35 minutes. Dominique Jones, the team's only foreign player, played over 45 minutes per game.

Jiang Weize (C) of the Jilin Northeast Tigers drives toward the rim in Game 1 of the CBA playoffs against the Zhejiang Lions in Nanchang, east China's Jiangxi Province, April 8, 2022. /CFP

Jiang Weize (C) of the Jilin Northeast Tigers drives toward the rim in Game 1 of the CBA playoffs against the Zhejiang Lions in Nanchang, east China's Jiangxi Province, April 8, 2022. /CFP

"We are a united team with great chemistry," Jiang told Xinhua. "Jones always leads by example and has been very demanding of himself. He gave young players a lot of help too and never complained."

As a 1.81-meter-tall guard, Jiang doesn't enjoy much of a size advantage in the CBA. That's why he always keeps moving on the floor and has developed sharp 3-point shooting. He once posted a video on social media platform of him making 50+straight triples in practice.

However, he still considers himself a young player, and keeps asking himself to do better, so he can progress more in the future.

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