4 out of 22 shots! A poor finals performance! The Chinese men's basketball team's max-salary guard

They won, they won.

In Game 4, the Guangsha team defeated the Shanghai team 101-93 at home, now trailing 1-3 in the finals.

In this game, four Guangsha players scored in double figures. Hu Jinqiu was extremely efficient, making 13 of 16 shots for 30 points. The two foreign guards, Brown and Tucker, combined for an explosive 49 points, 14 rebounds, and 15 assists. Lin Bingsheng played the role of a surprise contributor with 11 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals.

Shanghai continued to use two foreign players. Goodwin, the ball-dominant guard, played the entire game, making 8 of 20 shots for 28 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, and 2 steals, while also committing 5 turnovers.

Actually, the "biggest contributor" to Guangsha's victory in this game was Sun Minghui. Coming off the bench, he played less than seven minutes and scored zero points, having no presence on the court. His significance lies in the fact that his playing time was drastically reduced—including being benched in the second half—and his presence on the floor now actually harms the team.

Over these four games between Guangsha and Shanghai,Sun Minghui has made a combined 4 of 22 shots, and in the past three games: In G1, he played 21 minutes, making 0 of 5 shots, with 0 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, and 5 turnovers; G2, 26 minutes, 2 of 7 shots, 5 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 turnover; G3, 23 minutes, 2 of 8 shots, 4 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 turnovers...

Throughout this entire postseason, Sun Minghui has been playing despite not being fully recovered from his injury, even opting for a pain-killing injection. His professionalism is commendable, but his on-court performance has been far from satisfactory. Perhaps cheering on his teammates from the bench with a towel would be more effective. If he is benched for the entire G5, it would not come as a surprise.

Sun Minghui was born on April 26, 1996. He is a point guard standing 1.86 meters tall with a wingspan of 1.89 meters. He has played for the Guangsha team for 11 years. His current D-class max-salary contract expires in the summer of 2028. He has earned numerous accolades: five All-CBA Team selections, five All-Star appearances, one Assist King, one Defensive Player of the Year, one Most Improved Player, two Steals leaders, and one championship—achieving both fame and fortune early on.

Unfortunately, Sun Minghui has had very few opportunities to shine in his national team career. The only time he was heavily relied upon was during the 2022 Asian Cup, where he averaged 9.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 7 assists, earning the tournament's Assist King honor.