CBA Webchat: T-Mac, A Retooled Guangdong Offence and Jianbings

A few days ago, I took part in a web-chat with two of the best English-language basketball writers in China - Andrew Crawford, the writer Shark Fin Hoops, and Jon Pastuzek, the man behind NiuBball. This was the first time that I have participated in a webchat with them, and as a relative newcomer to Chinese hoops, it served as an important introductory conversation. The chat was first published on Shark Fin Hoops.

The Chinese basketball season is about a month away from starting and in anticipation of this, cash has been flashed and some well-known NBA players will be plying their trade in China this season.

Andrew Crawford: Karan, as its your first time talking CBA hoops with us, why don’t you give people an idea of who you are and your writing background?

Karan Madhok: Well, I’m a basketball writer from India and have worked with the Basketball Federation of India, NBA.com/India, and SLAM Magazine. I keep a blog about basketball in India called ‘Hoopistani‘. I moved to China just over 3 months ago so I’m still new to the CBA and Chinese hoops.

AC: Great stuff. Do you think you’ll chose a team to follow this year or are you going to stay neutral the whole time!

KM: Oh, I’m definitely choosing the Beijing Ducks for 2 obvious reasons. 1) I live in Beijing and I’m already a fan of the city and 2) Call me crazy, but I’ve been on the Stephon Marbury bandwagon for over a decade now, following his career through its ups and downs, vaseline eating and championships. Oh and 3) The Ducks and have the coolest name in the CBA!

AC: That they do. Well, you’ve picked a fine time to arrive in the capital- I was hoping to get you on the Sharks bandwagon but alas. Since you brought up Stephon Marbury, lets neatly segway into another NBA player whose been around for a while- Tracey McGrady has signed with the Qingdao Eagles. Guys, do you think T-Mac can still do it or is this more about both sides making money off this?

KM: Well, this is definitely about the money first and foremost. Qingdao benefits, McGrady benefits, everyone’s happy. But for McGrady, I think there is still some (very) faint hope that this stint will give a him a chance in the NBA again once the CBA season ends. I don’t expect him to be a Marbury-type loyalist to basketball in China – at least not yet, anyways. Whether or not he gets a shot with the NBA again (and I’m not sure he will), McGrady will be using Qingdao for the stats and the money, and Qingdao will use McGrady for the money and the fans.

Still though, this is a logical next move for him. McGrady has definitely been very popular in China since the Yao days, and a star like him will no doubt bring some more excitement to the CBA.

Jon Pastuszek: Obviously, money plays a big factor when these big name NBA guys sign in China. But, whereas last year there were some players making well into the seven figures, T-Mac’s contract this season is reportedly quite reasonable by CBA standards. This is more of a long-term thing for him. McGrady, a la Stephon Marbury, will aim at building his brand inside the Chinese market. He’s already hugely popular among fans and the belief is that if he can stick around and build Qingdao into a winner, he’ll become an even bigger name out here.

About his play, there’s a few questions: Can his body hold up to 30+ minutes a night? Is he explosive enough to get to the basket consistently? How is he going to handle the pressure of having to score 25 to 30 points a night?

With his height and versatility, he will find ways to effect the game beyond scoring the ball, but in the CBA, imports are expected to put the ball in the hoop… and with seven Chinese players leaving the team this off-season, including Li Gen, he won’t have much help around him to alleviate that pressure.

AC: Absolutely- the Li Gen point is crucial in my books. I know last season, Qingdao were happy to let Lester Hudson call the shots but they always had a solid Plan B in Li. Cai Liang was also a decent player for them too and he’s gone as well so it really is all about the star player this season.

After the K-Mart/Patty Mills/ Wilson Chandler drama last season, how do you think T-Mac will handle his debut year in China. Qingdao is obviously a very nice city but it certainly isn’t Orlando or Houston!

JP: While not Orlando or Houston, or even Beijing or Shanghai, Qingdao is actually a very pleasant city by the coast and one I think McGrady could get used to. He’s been to China several times before and he says he is aware of all of the issues he’ll have to face, so I don’t think living here will be an earth-shattering adjustment for him. Unless his body chooses not to cooperate and his play suffers as a result, I think he will adapt just fine.

KM: I have never been to Qingdao, so it won’t be fair for me to comment on how McGrady can fit in. But I believe that if guys like JR Smith and Kenyon Martin can go to the hinterlands of China, then McGrady will be okay, too. In the end, if the money is good, he’ll be good. Plus, he’ll enjoy the type of popularity here that he has never experienced in his career. That will be worth it all.

AC: Just behind T-Mac in terms of the wow factor is probably Yi Jianlian coming back to China and playing for his home team, the Guangdong Tigers. The fact that the Tigers now have an already strong local roster that is now reinforced by getting a Chinese NBA caliber player as well as still having room to add two overseas imports has to make the favorites going into the start of the season?

KM: From what I’ve been able to gather in my short time here, it seems that Guangdong are primed to be the favourites again. The NBA imports may get all the hype but it will be the familiarity of Yi coming back to his old system that will really propel this team.

JP: I’ve almost always been a subscriber to the belief that the reigning champions come into the season as the favorites. And with a Beijing team that made a big addition themselves with Li Gen, I still think they’re the favorites.

But, Yi is obviously a massive signing for them. Not only is he an NBA-caliber seven footer, he’s one who has no playing time restrictions because he’ll be registered as a Chinese player. Yet, while he’ll be force this year, Guangdong didn’t play well in the time that he was with the team last year during the NBA lockout, and I think there will be an adjustment period as his team gets re-adjusted to playing alongside him. Having too much talent is one of those good problems, though, and I think Guangdong is certainly the odds-on-pick to get back to the Finals.

AC: The third and final ‘ big’ name we should talk about is Gilbert Arenas- again with Guangdong. That signing looks to be all but done and Agent Zero is on his way to Guangzhou. On paper, this is an excellent move- a scoring PG like this will be an asset on any team but he’s a little crazy to say the least!

KM: This is a high risk/high reward move of course: either Arenas just shoots them out of contention or he somehow manages to play with Yi and build a championship.

JP: Like T-Mac, the issue with Gil will be his body’s ability to deal with 30+ minutes a night. If he really is healthy. like some reports have suggested, and he has some of that explosiveness he had a few years ago, he’ll be a problem for opponents. I question if this is really what Guangdong needs right now, especially with Yi coming back. Historically, this is a team that thrives when they get “system foreigners,” like Smush Parker and Lester Hudson, ones who understand that the team doesn’t need their imports to dominate offensively. Last season, they had a similar import in Aaron Brooks, and while he played very well, he struggled to run good offense and get his teammates good looks in the Finals against Beijing. Critics of this argument will say that Arenas is bigger and stronger than Brooks and will be able to effect the game in more ways than just scoring, but I don’t believe its ever been within Arenas’ nature to be a distributor. There’s a lot of potential for Guangdong to be an explosive offense, but whether the pieces fit together is something that I’m not too sure on.

AC: Have there been any other moves that have caught your eye? I really like the Hudson move to Dongguan and the Elijah Milsapp signing by my Sharks is also a nice bit of business. Millsap’s got that unknown quality to him but everyone’s excited about him in the city and he’ll hopefully provide a ton of dynamism between the 2 and 3 spots.

JP: I’m with you on Hudson, he should be a great fit with the Leopards. But I’m surprised you didn’t mention D.J. White, who if healthy is going to have a huge season in Shanghai. I like what Xinjiang has done, burying the hatchet on James Singleton and whatever beefs were there from two years ago, and bringing Von Wafer to play alongside him. I think Wafer is going to shred the nets this season and Singleton, as always, will do all of the little things in between that has made him such a good player in this league over the last three years. And I’m totally buying the culture change in Foshan: New coach, three good imports and a complete Chinese roster overhaul. Maybe they’re not a playoff team, but they’ll be much improved.

AC: I think for me, White’s NBA resume implies he’ll be a strong signing so I’m more instinctively drawn to the ‘what could be’ of Milsapp rather than the ‘what we know’ about White. This could easily be a case of preseason optimism but he’s quick and can make shots from all over the court so I’m hoping he could be Shanghai’s own Marcus Williams but time will tell on that one. Viz Foshan- any sort of culture change within that organisation can only be for the better because they’ve been nothing but mediocre for several seasons.

Is there a team in the league who is desperately screaming out for a certain individual/kind of player to help them in the upcoming season?

JP: Jiangsu needs bigs like I need jianbings in the morning, which is why they signed one of the bigger centers on the market, Garret Siler, and I’m looking into buying a jianbing skillet to put in my house. OK maybe just walking three minutes outside my house will do, but you get the point. Siler will help, but he is not a 36 minute a night kind of guy and I don’t think their Chinese are good enough to play consistently well when he’s off the court. I like Siler if he’s in shape, but I think they still are lacking in that area. I think Pooh Jeter will be solid for Shandong, but with Sui Ran already there at point guard, I’m surprised they didn’t go with a ball-handling wing. Maybe they’re committed to developing Ding Yanyuhang this season.

AC: Jianbings for life! That said, I don’t think even those delicious turnips ones I get on the corner of Wuding Lu and my apartment over in SH are going to help out Jiangsu this season. They were truly, truly bad and even my love for Meng Da’s oddness and Nanjing as a city can obscure the reality that the Dragons bouncing back to anything respectable this season is going to be tough.

Alright gents- There’ll obviously be a preview before the the first round of games starts but with the CBA season now a month away from starting, how excited are you about Chinese basketball in 2012/13?

JP: think it’s going to be a great season. For once, there’s actually some parity in the league — not just at the top of the league, but also in the middle part of the standings. Overall, I think the quality of the league top to bottom is as good as its ever been. The CBA is getting better and better every year: The level of foreign players, Chinese players and coaching continue to be on the upward. And as we saw last year during the Finals, fan interest is at an all-time high. Excited to see how it all plays out this year.

KM: I’m really excited obviously since this will be my first time to witness the action first-hand in China. The CBA is becoming one of the most-hyped leagues in the world. Of course, there can be a lot of criticisms and drawbacks of the way certain things are done here, but coming from India, the CBA model is a good one to follow to see how a league should be built and developed. This season, Yi is back, McGrady and Arenas are on board, and I live in the city of the Ducks and Marbury. What’s not to love?

AC: Indeed. I’ll gladly second Jon’s point about the upcoming season. There is so much to get excited about. For me personally, its been a massively long offseason and the sooner I get my three nights of basketball the better. Now I’ve got a season under my belt from last year, there’s a whole range of teams I want to see the Sharks crush, players I want to see crossed up and fourth quarter shoot-outs I want us to sneak out off by a point. Can’t wait. Thanks for your time guys- we’ll have to do this again before the season starts in late November

The Elephant, the Dragon, & the Basketball

Two months ago, I moved base from New Delhi to Beijing, moving from my home nation - the world's second most populous nation India - to China, the most populous. Now able to experience first-hand the frenzy of hoops in China, I have tied up with the finest English basketball website in China - NiuBball.com - to produce some content that could be hopefully relevant to audiences interested in both nations.

Here is my first feature for them: And I HIGHLY recommend that you browse over to NiuBBall to check out this feature and many more insightful articles on China Basketball.

Friends and foes, brothers and rivals. China and India are two sides of the same magnet, forever connected yet forever repelling form each other. They are the world’s first and second largest populations. Each boasts of a civilization that is more than 5000 years old. Each is a country rich in culture, heritage, and personality. They are Feng Shui and Vastu Shastra. They are Tai Chi and Yoga. They are the Great Wall and the Taj Mahal. In recent years, they have been two of the fastest rising economies in the world. They are – respectively – the world’s largest communist and largest democratic nations.

They are neighbours.

Both China and India – in drastically different ways – have become global economic powerhouses and rightfully garnered serious attention from investors all across the globe. No matter the hardships back home, The Indian Elephant and the Chinese Dragon are here, and they are here to stay.

And as the world’s two largest markets, both China and India have received special attention from the NBA and its commissioner David Stern in recent years. Stern has made no secret of the fact that he has been looking to expand the NBA’s worldwide brand, and the world’s two largest populations will be his major vehicle to carry out these ambitions. China has already more than compensated in their part of the bargain, accepting basketball as the nation’s most popular sport, seeing the rise of a well-oiled machine in the CBA, and seeing their national squad rise to participate (but not always competitively) against the world’s best. In China, basketball became much, much more than just the NBA – it became a lifestyle and a mainstream obsession.

But the in Elephant – India – basketball has found an animal far tougher to tame to accept its ways. Sport in mainstream India means one word and one word alone: Cricket. Indians eat, sleep, drink, laugh, cry, obsess, and fully live embroiled in Cricket. The game is found in the country’s every nook and cranny. Like China, traditional Indian parents may still preach academics over sport, but for those who do have the courage and talent to seek out their sporting dreams, the overwhelming majority thinks just cricket, cricket, and cricket.

It’s no wonder than that while India’s Cricket National team are world champions, the same country can’t field a basketball squad good enough to beat Syria. While India’s professional cricket league (IPL) is catching up to the NBA and English Premier League football as one of the most lucrative in the world, the country’s best basketball players are still only semi-professionals since a pro basketball league is still a long way away from realisation.

In Asian basketball competitions, while China dominates the way that the USA dominates the world stage. A loss for China at any Asian level is sacrilege and anything other than first place is considered a disappointment. India has comparatively far humbler ambitions: While India does get to play the bully against its South Asian neighbours (Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Maldives), they are often the whipping boys themselves when they face Asia’s best – Japan, Korea, Chinese Taipei, or China. Although results have been slowly improving in recent years, India is still struggling mightily to break even the top 8 barrier in any Asian Men’s competition.

I'm born and bred in India, and have been writing about basketball in India for my blog HOOPISTANI for nearly three years, a period in which I also worked as the communications head for the Basketball Federation of India (BFI). Less than two months ago, my life took me in a slight tangent and I found myself shifting base from New Delhi to Beijing: not the biggest shift geographically and culturally, but a whole new world and lifestyle in many other ways.

Now in China, I’m getting the opportunity to view first-hand the hysteria of hoops and the influence that the game has had across the country. There are several lessons to be learnt for the Indian hoops observer. In many ways, China is the hoops model that India – like every other Asian country – would like to emulate. Unlike other Asian countries, India has the population, the market, and thus the potential heavy interest of investors to make it up.

But as anyone who has dealt with business in each of the two nations perhaps already knows, there are vast differences between China and India. China is structured, and some would say, almost too structured, leaving little room for creative basketball minds and talents (on and off the floor) to thrive. India is almost the exact opposite, lacking any sort of consistent structure and thus a lot of basketball operations in the country are a few steps below the Western standard of professionalism. The growth of basketball in India is further hampered by poor infrastructure, slow bureaucracy, and just the general lack of interest, due to other ‘cricketing’ distractions.

Although it may not be able to match the quality of Chinese basketball or the sheer number of fans in the country, India does have a lot of potential. India’s private sector has been a growing attraction for investors, and these include investors who are ready to help the sport grow independently of the support (or the harassment) of the government. Case in point: IMG Worldwide, a leading global sports/media management company, signed a deal with India’s richest conglomerate company Reliance to sponsor the growth of different Indian sports. IMG-Reliance became sponsors of the Basketball Federation of India two years ago and have been slowly charting out plans to improve both the status of the game and the quality of the national teams. If China got their big boost in basketball nearly 20 years ago with the inception of the CBA, India’s big boost has belatedly arrived now.

Popularity of Chinese basketball skyrocketed when Yao Ming was selected first in the 2002 NBA draft and went on to become a superstar player. No player in India (or for that matter, China) in the near future has the capacity to match Yao’s talent, but Indian fans have been pinning their hopes on their own idols who could one day help popularise the sport back home. Chief among them is 16-year-old Satnam Singh Bhamara, a teenager born and bred in a small Indian village who grew to be 7 foot tall and develop into a star young player for India. Bhamara is still only a high-schooler, but as he trains and improves his game at the IMG Academy in Florida, all eyes will be upon the young giant to take the next big step for Indian hoops.

Meanwhile, the NBA, who already have several offices and a well-run operation in China, have expanded their outreach into India in recent years. The NBA has been running several grassroots programmes in India since 2010 and opened their first India office earlier this year. They have been able to work closely with India’s best players, coaches, and basketball administrators in this period and have genuinely impacted the increase of basketball following amongst young Indians with their multi-city competitions and events.

These are two countries with vastly different basketball aims: China dreams of being counted amongst the best teams in the world while India aims to move up the ladder in Asia first.

These are exciting times for the future of the accumulated 2.6 billion people in the two countries, and also for the fraction of those billions who eat, sleep, and live basketball. I’m just glad to find myself somewhere in the middle of it.