James Fallows on Jeremy Lin, in which he links to my Stephon Marbury video from 2010

I'm of the opinion that James Fallows is still one of the best China correspondents out there, even though he's been off the China beat for a while (I might be biased -- he does, after all, have his own tag on this blog). This comes slightly belated (from last Wednesday):

But let's go to the videos! It happens that there is a test case available: the millions of actual Asian people who play basketball -- it's very popular throughout the region -- and the thousands who have played in professional or semi-pro leagues in China itself. These are real living-in-Asia Asians, without the diluting effect the immigrant experience might have brought to their "philosophical heritage." Overall do they play ball in a way the sociologists might predict?

Unt-uh. Here's one video, of the Dongguan Leopards playing at Shanxi Zhongyu, in a Chinese league. This features Stephon Marbury playing for Shanxi, one of a steady trickle of NBA stars who extend their careers with a contract in China. The first minute or so is the local equivalent of dancing Laker-girls. Some of the rest features crowd agitation, yelling at refs, general tumult, and some basketball. Virtually none of it fits with treatises on Asian "philosophical heritage" -- even though nearly every person you see on screen (apart from Marbury and a few other foreign players) is theoretically part of this tradition.

Here's the video from a couple years back:

Fallows then found himself in an email spat with the Hidden Harmonies blog's melektaus, who -- I think it's safe to say -- isn't a fan.

Starbury had the best game of his CBA career last night

Stephon Marbury scored 45 points. Grabbed 12 rebounds. Decided to pass a few times and get 10 assists. Swiped three (felt like more).

The Beijing Ducks should have gotten blown out by J.R. Smith's team (Zhejiang CyclonesGolden Bulls, if you're wondering, though "J.R. Smith's team" is more accurate). Instead, they came back from seven down with 7 minutes to play to win 102-93.

Smith, who took the lockout gambit and lost (his contract with the CBA has no opt-out clause, so he's stuck till the season ends in March), is currently leading the league in scoring with 33.8 points per game, so I thought I'd chart all his shots. The last time these teams played, in Zhejiang, Beijing head coach Min Lulei said, "Our strategy was to let Smith get his points and stop everyone else." I figured he could've been good for 50 (also, this). But midway through the third quarter I realized it was Marbury I should've been tracking.

The former Shanxi Brave Dragon and Foshan Dralion drained a three at the end of the 3rd quarter to bring the Beijing Ducks to within five, 79-74. WIth just under seven to play in the game, with his team trailing by seven, he drove the lane and drew a foul, prompting a Beijing TV commentator to note, "Marbury is the Beijing offense right now." A couple possessions later, on defense, he poked a ball away from a CycloneGolden Bull, then drained another three to pull the Ducks to within 88-86. Soon after, he stole the ball, dished to a teammate, then rebounded his teammate's miss and put it back to tie the game at 88.

From there, Smith -- who finished with a healthy 39 on 14-of-25 shooting -- went cold, and the Ducks begin to pull away (also thanks to Beijing's other foreign player [each team can have two], Randolph Morris).

Watch the entire game here.

The Ducks are now back alone in second place.

POSTSCRIPT 1: There's a video featuring J.R. Smith that's currently uploading onto YouTube that you'll want to come back for. ETA couple hours. UPDATE: Here.

POSTSCRIPT 2: JR Smith vs. Beijing Ducks, January 18, 2012:

1st quarter
8:40 remaining: long jumper from top of key, 2 pts
5:54: a couple crossovers and a silky jump shot, 4 pts
5:24: drive to basket, fouled on dunk attempt; 2-2 FT, 6 pts
4:02: crossover blow-by, bumped on way to basket, converts layup; 1-1 FT, 9 pts
3:00: Fouled while dribbling beyond three-point line, Beijing over limit; 1-2 FT (he front-rims the first, and the crowd goes, "Oooh"), 10 pts
2:05: Fouled again, by different defender; 2-2 FT, 12 pts
1:39: Ahead of pack, fast-break layup, 14 pts
:57: Step-back long J nothing but net. Commentator says something that I'll translate as, "He's got mad skills." 16 pts

2nd quarter
9:21: 2v1 fast-break (the 1 is Marbury): Smith passes behind his back, but his teammate doesn't make the layup; Smith taps in put-back, 18 pts
8:35: Hard into lane, 20 pts

7:49: Smith takes his first break of the game as the commentator talks about how much he's exerting himself and how fast his stamina has been drained. Because the CBA only allows foreigners to play a combined six quarters -- and because Zhejiang's other foreigner, Josh Boone (yes, the one from UCONN), needs some PT as well -- Smith doesn't return to the game until the second half.

3rd quarter
10:05: Smith drains a three to put Zhejiang up 53-49, 23 pts
6:59: Drains another three, Zhejiang up 61-56. "It's raining," one of the commentators says. "His shot is too accurate." The other commentator notes Smith has 28 points, but that's not right - I have him pegged for 26.
5:52: His third trey of the quarter, 29 pts: (the commentator confirms this)
In Beijing's team huddle, coach tells his team to guard Smith's jump shot.
1:23: Smith slices into lane, breezes by or through four defenders, gets fouled and converts layup. "Pretty," commentator says. "That's what we call ability." 1-1 FT, 32 pts
:48: Plows into lane again and puts in a floater. "He's playing crazy," commentator says (translation is literal). 34 pts

4th quarter
4:28: Smith knocks down a three with the shot clock winding down, 37 pts

He scores two more at some point, but my focus has shifted by then.

Watch the rowdiest fans in the CBA do their thing

Following their thrilling -- THRILLING -- win at Xinjiang on Wednesday (which I think is the first time Beijing's ever won in Xinjiang), the Ducks are again on the road, this time in Taiyuan to face the Shanxi Brave Dragons.

We'll take this occasion to revisit what happened the last time this blogger was in Shanxi's Binhe Sports Complex. It was nearly two years ago, and Stephon Marbury was playing for the home team. Fans got pissed.

In each of Marbury's first two games in the CBA, fans threw stuff onto the court. Shanxi's owner ended up getting fined for both incidents.

Earlier this evening -- it's 33-26 Shanxi as we speak -- something happened near the Beijing bench and fans in that area began to stand and gesticulate (and shout, we can only imagine). Security folk waved handkerchiefs at them and told them to sit, but these folk were having none of it. One person threw a napkin or something onto the court.

To say Shanxi basketball fans are rowdy might be an understatement.

Also, they're practically all wearing black. It's like a game straight from the 1930s.

BTV has the game live, for all those in China.

What's up, Ducks?

Beijing's professional basketball team, after winnings its first 13, lost its third straight game Wednesday night -- all at home -- to drop into a first-place tie with eminently hatable Guangdong. The Ducks surrendered a huge lead against Zhejiang Guangsha to lose 118-112, squandering a great performance by Stephon Marbury -- the China Daily columnist -- who, best I can tell, was not stoppable. He scored 34 points on 15-for-24 shooting and was credited with 9 assists, but who knows how many he'd had if the CBA weren't notoriously bad at tracking assists.

But he was outdone by one Wilson Chandler, one of the three Denver Nuggets players who elected to sign with the CBA during the NBA lockout, who scored 44 and grabbed 18 rebounds. Those are, indeed, eye-popping numbers, but Guangsha also got remarkable contributions from Puerto Rican big-man Peter John Ramos, who went 26 and 14. Ramos, in the minutes I saw of him, sealed his spot in my heart as least likable basketball player in the world, with his scowls, his complaints, his uninterested demeanor, his sleepwalking up and down the court, and the elbows he threw after every rebound attempt. The man does not look happy to be alive when he's playing basketball.

POSTSCRIPT: Unsurprisingly, Chandler was selected player of the week. Eurobasket also reports: "Guangsha L. will need more victories to improve their 12-4 record."

J.R. Smith is the CBA's Carmelo Anthony

Laid out on flu medicine here and just finished watching the Beijing-Zhejiang game on CCTV-5. J.R. Smith missed a three-pointer at the buzzer that would have erased a nine-point deficit in two minutes. Back rim. Decent game.

Afterwards, Beijing's coach basically said Smith had no help and that the team's strategy was to let Smith get his points (at least 37, I think) and contain everyone else. Success!

This might be the Beijing Ducks' year. With its win over Zhejiang (now 5-2), Beijing sits atop the standings as the last undefeated team at 9-0. Every other team has at least two losses.

In another Chinese sports happening, there's this Peak commercial with Shane Battier where he says, "Indomitable heart and aggressive mental power." Perhaps Peak should consider a different writer.

Also, Kevin Love is sponsored by 361. Who knew? It's too bad, because Stephon Marbury's the one rocking that whole "love" theme.

CBA All-Star game in Beijing

7:36 pm: Stephon Marbury just checked into the game.

Misses a three.

Tried throwing an alley oop that end up hitting back rim.

Very bad basketball. For a group of all-stars, there're a lot of missed wide-open three-pointers. Fancy passes flying up and down the court though.

In the end, Marbury finished with 30 points and won the MVP award. No surprise there.

Marbury wins first CBA game

Yay! Poop.

And now I will officially stop talking about this for the next four days.

UPDATE: Anita Chang of the Associated Press got access to Marbury before last Wednesday's game. Here are some of the things he told her:

HOW ENDED UP IN CHINA: "It was an opportunity to allow my brand to grow in a different distribution channel," he said, referring to his Starbury line of low-priced athletic shoes and clothing. "And I wanted to get back onto the basketball court."

ON KEEPING HIS IMAGE: "You got over 300 million kids that love basketball, so you can't beat that," he said. "I don't think people are all aware of that in the United States."

THIS IS NEW: SAYS TEAM OWNER WANG XINGJIANG: "He's helping me with the team, I can help him in business. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to afford him," said Wang, sitting in one of the more than a dozen faded armchairs and loveseats lining the sideline that make up the VIP section at Binhe Sports Arena. "He wants to promote his shoes and I want to be his agent in China."

AND FINALLY: "I'm going to let the chips fall where they may," Marbury said about his future in basketball. "This was something that I'm happy that I did ... I'm getting an opportunity to find myself and it's like a retreat also because I'm in a peaceful environment. I'm focused on one thing and that's playing basketball."

Another game, another loss

This time to Zhejiang, another good team, 108-103. Stephon Marbury had his best game yet, scoring 35 points and notching nine assists. In a CBA China poll afterwards, 69.6 percent of respondents said Shanxi lost despite Marbury's efforts because "the team is trash, full of blindmen." 16.2 percent (second place) said they don't care whether Shanxi wins or loses, just how Marbury does.

UPDATE: Those clever Hangzhou fans:

Fines beginning to mount for Shanxi

The Chinese Basketball Association came down hard on Shanxi today after Wednesday night's fiasco (fans tossing lighters and miscellany onto the floor), issuing a "stern, grave warning" and a fine of 110,000 yuan (80,000 levied on the Zhongyu club, 30,000 on Taiyuan's sports administration). After what happened Sunday -- i.e. more of the same -- the stiff penalty was "inevitable," according to the above-linked CBA China article.

Add that amount to the 40,000-yuan fine after Sunday and what you have is a dire situation. If Shanxi's fans can't control themselves -- in other words, if the cops in Taiyuan don't prevent another maelstrom -- we may be seeing radical measures. Locking out fans? I wouldn't be surprised. When the revenue from increased ticket sales is being funneled into the CBA's coffers, what's the point of trying to sell additional tickets?

The team's owner said one of his purposes for bringing in Stephon Marbury was to "pay back our fans" (not the greatest of translations, admittedly; probably he was saying "give back to" our fans), but looks like the fans are after something else. Lose 15 times and win only four? Payback time.

And, judging from what I saw on Wednesday, when the "increased security" seemed to have an incendiary rather than placating effect, the Taiyaun police are a joke. (They took the opportunity to harass journalists.) How are they supposed to maintain order inside a rowdy barn of an arena, where pent-up frustration and baijiu meet, when they can hardly do their job in the real world?

This is Marbury's home for the next month and a half, folks.

To give you a better idea of what the former Knickerbocker's up against, I'd like to excerpt from an email sent to me by Jon Pastuszek, a baller who's spent significant time in China learning Mandarin and coaching basketball:

For sure, Marbury had no idea what he was getting himself into. If had any grand illusions before coming to Taiyuan, I think he's going to figure out quickly that this situation isn't going to work out. For one, Taiyuan sucks. I'd argue that it's the worst CBA city of the lot, though Urumqi, given the current political climate, probably sucks too. But, second -- and I think this is the biggest reason -- the CBA sucks for foreigners.

A personal anecdote: I was playing in a 4v4 half-court game (unfortunately, the standard in China) against a group of Chinese who considered themselves to be good players. As is the case when playing Chinese (I'm 6-4, have played ball my whole life), they came out with something to prove and played with a lot of energy. Much to their anger, I was unguardable that day, and my performance was punctuated by a dunk on some dude's head. After I had landed on the ground, I let out a yell, which was not overly flamboyant in my mind. After all, I did dunk on this guy, right? Anyways, as I turned around to get back into my spot to check the ball, my victim puffed out his chest and got in my face. Shortly, I was surrounded by his whole crew and a shoving/yelling match between my team of foreigners and our Chinese opponents ensued. I've been in China long enough and seen way too many fights between foreigners and Chinese to know that we could have been in some serious trouble if things escalated. So, I said "sorry" picked up our ball and left.

I learned two things that day. First, don't dunk on Chinese people. But, second, Chinese people really don't like being humiliated at the hands of a foreigner. As China is becoming more willing -- and more capable -- to stand up to the world, Chinese are also more confident in themselves in comparison to foreigners. This pertains in basketball as well, the CBA included. These teams pay foreign players a lot of money to come in and score and the players respond by putting up 30+ a night. But how does that make their Chinese opponents, most of whom are being paid $50 a week, feel? How does it make their teammates feel?

Frankly, they're pissed. They're pissed that some stupid, selfish, arrogant laowai is shredding them up on a nightly basis. And when you're that pissed, and you feel that disrespected and humiliated, you look for reasons to retaliate -- a sneer, a yell, arguing with the official or any other kind of emotion by a foreigner on the court can be interpreted as some sort of personally demeaning attack on the integrity of a Chinese. And they take out their aggression on the foreigners by getting in their faces and hacking the hell out of them up and down the court for 48 minutes while the Chinese officials turn a blind eye. The foreign players in turn get angry, and what you have is an extremely volatile relationship between Chinese and foreign players that sometimes boils over in violence (http://blogs.hoopshype.com/blogs/muoneke/2008/12/16/china-madness/). And I think that's one of the main reasons why foreigners don't like playing in China.

A great bit of perspective on the challenges facing all the foreign basketball players in the CBA, but especially Marbury, who's expected to lead a very bad team to the playoffs (his words, not mine) in addition to being awesome, all the time, on and off the court. His best option may be to stay locked away all day, but that sort of reinforces the "lone wolf" image, doesn't it? It also can't be good for his psyche. And that leads into the question everyone's asking: when will all that -- specifically, the frustration from knowing he has ceded control of his life to foreigners in a place that is devastatingly foreign -- come to a head, result in a meltdown, cause an international incident?

On the bright side, fans still like him, and will continue to as long as he puts up numbers like he did Wednesday (15 points on 15 assists):

How do you feel about his 15-assist effort vs. Guangdong?

49.53 percent: Lone Wolf revealed his superstar abilites.

It should be mentioned that had Marbury brought his outside shooting touch to China (he's 1 for 13 from three-point range after two games), his team just may be 2-0 with him in the lineup. Just saying: there's hope yet for a dramatic turnaround in his team's fortunes.

Final postcard from Taiyuan, Shanxi, and a photo gallery

It’s 5:46 p.m. and the train I’m on just began its drive towards Beijing. I’m tired and sore as hell, having just hugged, lugged and kicked a box of 20 bottles of Shanxi vinegar to the station, bought for 44 kuai (that's a great deal! 2.20 yuan per bottle...). I would’ve paid 44 kuai for a fifth of that quantity, but thankfully the convenience store attendants had no interest in ripping me off.

By now I guess you've probably figured out I was in Shanxi working for Deadspin, specifically one brilliant editor named Tommy Craggs, who posted my story at 3:35 a.m. Taiyuan time while I sat inside a smoke-filled Internet bar. I'd meant to open a bottle of Fenjiu to celebrate, but fatigue got the better of me.

I'd like to take this time to thank a few people for their help, and though I know there’s zero chance some of the following will ever read this, seeing as how Blogger remains on the wrong side of the Great Firewall, I choose to recognize their efforts all the same.

Wang Jianguang, Shanxi Zhongyu media relations director, for getting me past security on Sunday and Wednesday. He’s a journalist at heart, which is why he seemed more ready to quarrel with this employers than follow their orders.

Jia Binjie, who met me on a street corner on the first day and proceeded to accompany me to Binhe Sports Stadium (I brought him inside as my "assistant"). He provided an insider's understanding of Taiyuan that proved invaluable.

David Zhu and that journalist for the “Beijing-based basketball magazine”: young sports journalists living the good life.

Alicia, for her patience and unconditional support.

All the people I interviewed, including the owner of a small soup diner a block from the stadium, a nice lady from Jiangxi, who gave me a free bowl of soup for no particular reason. (She didn't end up making the cut.)

And finally, everyone who commented and left words of encouragement. I appreciate it.

There's a photo gallery of Marbury in China, so it's only logical that I post a gallery of Taiyuan, as the two are now joined, willy-nilly, until at least March... lest something happens before then. Odds on an early departure: 4-1.

“Smokestacks and construction cranes”


Just as prominent as Taiyuan’s high-rise buildings are these plastered advertisements, which often depict images of leafy villas, mansions with swimming pools, cities of the future where car headlights are blurred in a stream of unstoppable motion, and generally good-looking people. Most of the images could use more pixels, considering their size, but this one here looks just fine. (Can you tell those aren't real trees?) Rubble and dust accumulate behind most of these walls.

Near the railroad station, there’s an ad for “Zhongyin territory office,” with the image of Battlestar Galactica’s Jamie Bamber showing off a watch. On Saturday night I saw that locals using part of this poster as a wall for a lean-to. A tarp was laid over poles, and inside the resulting food tent a group of people huddled inside holding their hands over rusted grills.



Smokestacks dot the skyline, though in China, buildings don’t so much create skylines as poke holes through them.

McDonald’s will take over the world, unless KFC does it first


Marbury asked if there were any McDonald’s in Taiyuan, and sure enough...

The paucity of coffeeshops makes the city unlivable for me, though I should mention I spent a lot of time in UBC, and would thank them except their prices remain too high and their cups too small. At least twice I was also stuck listening to some bigwig cuss and rant, very loudly, about something or other in a very grating dialect, much worse than Cantonese.

Along Yingze Street



Yingze Dajie ("Big Street") is the main east-west thoroughfare leading from the train station to the other side of Yifen Bridge. Driving west, you will pass offices of three phone companies, countless hotels, the provincial and municipal headquarters and at least six banks.

A police academy graduation ceremony is happening in the first picture.

The pride of Shanxi


The Chinese love their baijiu, a devastating yet cheap (bad combination) white grain liquor that has annihilated more than one living thing in its history, myself included. The local Shanxi brand is Fenjiu, which is the official sponsor of Shanxi Zhongyu. “Fenjiu” takes its name from an ancient Chinese poem (I wish I could remember the name), and the statue above is supposedly an artistic rendering of some line from the poem.

While it looks like a tribute to Dionysus / Pan, it’s actually just a random lutist and some half-naked woman.

Binhe Sports Stadium (part of Binhe Sports Complex)


Looks like it could poke out an eye, no?

Mmm


Shanxi is also famous for its vinegar, which can be taken straight out of the saucer (I tried it, it was good; then I bought a box of 20; was very heavy, not recommended if traveling alone). The cold dish in this picture is “jin vegetables,” a flavorful mix that’s more exciting than any house salad.

“Qie-zi!”


That’s what the Chinese say – meaning “eggplant” – when posing for pictures.

Liuxiang Street (popular among street shoppers, no relation to hurdler)


I almost conducted my interview with Roxana at a KFC because we couldn't find a coffeeshop or café for the life of us (eventually we came upon a Best Bite Donuts and Coffee, whatever that is). We did, however, encounter this rock band that I’m convinced could have single-handed killed the rock ‘n’ roll movement had they been playing back then.

Modern Chinese metropolis




The golden colored building in the middle there is a luxury apartment that’s supposed to represent imperial royalty. Personally, I see it as a symbol of money, and urine.

Toughest ticket in town

Guy in foreground is the park administrator quoted in the story.

When I went to the ticket window on Saturday afternoon a tall, beefy guy wearing an oversized CBA coat asked if I was a journalist. He stood uncomfortably close to me. He asked if I was trying to buy tickets. I said no. I asked him how much they were selling for, and whether he thought the prices were going to go up. He said, “You don’t have a recording device on you, do you?” I later learn that his paranoia is probably due to the fact that he’s a ticket scalper, and that he was protecting his turf. I would see him around the ticket booth way too many times over the next four days.

Exceptional


I don’t want to mischaracterize Taiyuan. It's a city with problems, some obvious, others less so, but like any city, it won't reveal its nooks and crannies and charming soft spots to just any passerby. A week was probably too short. (Then again... nah.)

Anyway, sometimes the blue of the sky even shines, as it did on Sunday, momentarily.

Final look


Looking west down Yingze Street, my back to the train station.

*

I didn’t get to go to Pingyao or Datong, and I never did open the Fenjiu that’s been in my coat pocket since Saturday. For another time, I guess.

Shanxi fans are really angry

I know yesterday I said I had posted my last video from Shanxi, but then the following happened at Wednesday night's game:



Fans threw stuff onto the court on Sunday, resulting in a 40,000 yuan ($5,882) fine from the CBA. What's going to happen after this latest incident?

Shanxi Zhongyu vs. Guangdong Hongyuan live-blog

The Southern Tigers of Guangdong, currently 17-1 and on top of the CBA standings, are visiting tonight in a game scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. We won't know if CCTV-5 will be showing this game, but they'd be idiots not to. Guangdong, according to China Sports News, has "five capped players and three national youth members." (A CBA journalist next to me says in addition they have two players who nearly made the active roster but are on the practice squad.) They also have Smush Parker, formerly of the Los Angeles Lakers, and David Harrison, a Colorado Buffaloes standout who was drafted by the Indiana Pacers.

*

I arrived at Binhe Sports Stadium at noon in order to avoid security. I set up at press row and worked, mostly in the dark, and waited.

At about 5:30 I was nearly escorted out.

Gonna switch to present tense now, if that's okay.

A stern looking man starts going down the row demanding to see press passes. I, of course, have no press pass, as I’m not a CBA beat reporter (I'd also been told a pass wasn't strictly necessary). I’m sitting at the end of the table and hoping this guy, surname Yang, isn’t meticulous. He is. He’s going down the row of journalists and scrutinizing every pass. When he gets to me I try my best to explain my situation, that I’m an American journalist, etc.

There will be others from the U.S. who come later, I say.

“Let me see your credentials then,” he demands. He talks fast and sharply.

I’m not sure what to say. Credentials?

“Where’re your papers? As a journalist you have to have papers, right?”

I try to explain we don’t have do in the States, i.e. issue certificates of journalism. I offer to give him my business card.

“Who let you come here then?”

Wang, I say.

“Wang who?”

I search my wallet and pull out Wang Jianguang’s business card. He looks at it and returns it.

“Let me see your business card. Is it English or Chinese?”

It’s in both languages, and I hand it to him and tell him to keep it. When he hands it back to me I see how long and ugly his fingernails are.

He asks me to call Wang, and I oblige.

“Wang Jianguang, hello,” I say. “There’s a sir here who wants to talk to you.”

And on the phone things are sorted out, I think.

I explain again that I called the CBA a few days earlier and they told me to talk to Shanxi’s people (absolutely true, by the way), which is how I got in touch with Wang, who told me he'd escort me in the stadium if it came to that. (I should add here that Wang has been incredibly helpful and has gone above and beyond the call of duty; lots of people in his position would have given up or bowed to authority.) I say I was here on Sunday. Yang seems pacified, a little.

Wang appears shortly after. Yang starts to criticize him. "You know in China our law is if you want to interview someone you have to have papers.”

Wang explains that these journalists are here for Marbury only, and that there’s no way they’re going to have press passes. He is asked how many other foreign journalists are coming. “The Associated Press…”

“How many?”

“They have three.”

“We can’t let them in. They have to have credentials.”

Some other cop asks, “Are they Chinese?”

“Yes,” says Wang.

“Hmm.”

Some agreement is worked out so that the AP journalists have to meet with Yang at a side door.

Not really sure what these people have against foreign journalists. Some colliery boss going to be in the house?

And then the police ask everyone on press row to leave the premises and then come back in. Christ, I think. The journalists protest, saying their equipment is all here. A bit of back-and-forth, civil enough. A CBA beat writer for Sohu.com ends up going to bat for me: he says, "Well you're going to have to let us keep someone behind to watch our stuff." The cops agree.

I am chosen.

A cop next to me says, "Okay, you stay behind."

As everyone is leaving yet another cop, some woman, looks my way and says, "Who is that?" She is informed.

The police presence today is pretty ridiculous. They're everywhere. Now I'm afraid of leaving my seat to use the bathroom in case someone asks to see a press pass.

6:24 p.m. A cop comes by and asks me to hand him a newspaper. He slaps at the front page and says, "Fucking Wu Qinglong" (the coach), and grumbles about something else. I smile and nod.

6:50 p.m. Question: what's Shanxi's Maurice Taylor doing shooting by himself while the rest of his team stretches?

As promised, Harrison and Parker:


7:20 p.m. 10 minutes to game time. Both teams on court warming up, Shanxi in yellow, Guangdong in white.

7:32: Let there be no doubt: Marbury is a different player today. The first two possessions he has taken it hard to the hoop, converting an and-one the second time. He is being face-guarded (by a taller player) yet still just got the ball in possession No. 3, and immediately fouled.

4th possession: Marbury is stripped by Smush Parker, who converts a layup on the other end to give Guangdong an early 4-3 lead.

6:39 left in 1st: Marbury is called for an intentional foul. There's no question he was trying to foul the driver intentionally, but in the NBA it would've been merely a "hard" foul, just a slap on the wrist.

Next possession, he issues a truly pretty pass -- the kind that has to be called a dime -- and his teammate converts the bucket with a foul.

3:36 left in first: Marbury just hit the first 3-pointer of his CBA career.

2:24: Guangdong calls a timeout because they're down eight after Marbury's no-look pass resulted in a fast-break bucket that has the crowd roaring its approval.

1:50: Marbury reaches in and commits a silly foul. He immediately goes to the ref and complains about a non-call on the other end, when he got mugged at the basket.

The crowd begins getting angry, and we've seen what happens when they get angry.

"Calm down, please calm down," the PA announcer says.

Marbury subs out.

About a minute left: Guangdong's big man just hit the deck, drawing a foul call. The fans next to me scream, "Faker!" Man they're brutal.

33 seconds: Maurice Taylor missed from under the basket. There's a reason the Shanxi fans have said the team's selection of foreign players at the beginning of the year was "disastrous." Between him and Benson Lee (you should be asking "Who?") and all the youngsters, I'm surprised they've won four.

Shanxi nails a three-pointer at the buzzer. They lead 30-26 after an exciting first quarter.

And now, the Shanxi cheerleaders dance to Pitbull's "I Know You Want Me."

10:10 left in 2nd: Seriously, CBA refs are AWFUL. Smush Parker looked like he wanted to punch the ref after the latest blown call. (Two blown calls in one: Parker was victim of an over-the-back, and then the other guy knocked the ball out of bounds.)

Now Taylor is barking at a ref, cursing. He just got whistled for a flagrant after getting tangled up with a Guangdong player.

Something might go down tonight. Stay tuned.

PA: "Fans, please, don't disrupt the opposing players when they're trying to shoot free throws."

The sarcasm is not lost on the fans. They cheer louder.

6:56 left in 2nd: The sad reality is, Marbury's teammates are really awful, and they're playing a team where they are outclassed in every position except point guard. And Smush Parker is no slouch.

Twice this quarter I've seen Marbury make great passes, putting the ball exactly where it needs to go, just to see his teammates hesitate and tiptoe towards the basket, pump-fakes and all. It is now 40-33 Guangdong.

David Harrison just got whistled for a flagrant on Marbury. There was nothing overly aggressive about it, but the way fans were foaming at the mouth...

Someone always gets mugged when the ball goes down low. Refereeing CBA games must be impossible, because fouls happen ALL the time. What do you allow and what don't you? I think it's the arbitrariness of the process that pisses so many people off.

Marbury way off mark on 3-pointer...

4:02 left: Timeout Shanxi.

Okay, I have officially never seen players miss layups as badly as Shanxi's players. They aren't close on their shots. They close their eyes, I think. After the breakaway layup Guangdong just converted, Marbury slammed the ball on the ground (a slam-dribble, you can say).

A problem on the offensive end: Marbury is talking in English, his teammates no none of it.

David Harrison just two-hand dunked it. That's embarrassing.

Offensive rebound Guangdong. Two foul shots later, it's 53-39.

2:35 let in 2nd: Guangdong on the free throw line again, and I think something is setting in among these fans here: reality.

I can't get used to how short the halftimes are here.

The third quarter has started well for Shanxi. Marbury tipped a loose ball to a teammate, who dunked, and then he assisted on a three-pointer.

Guangdong just answered though, and Maurice Taylor missed another short jump-hook.

8:16 left in 3rd: Shanxi making a run...

Marbury brings a different energy level to the court, and every one of his passes is oohed and aah'ed over, and when it results in a bucket the crowd goes wild.

On an unrelated note, the cop just tried, not for the first time, to tell a group of people sitting on the stairs next to me to move up to their seats. They're not budging.

Taylor just missed a layup.

Just under seven minutes left in third, and Marbury just put Parker on his butt with a drive-stop. He then missed the jumper.

Taylor is awful. I'm sorry. I just have to get that on the record.

David Harrison skied high for a rebound over Taylor and after the put-back, backpedaling, he jawed over at someone or other. "Yeah!" This was after rejecting a Marbury shot earlier.

Marbury just went right by a defender for a layup. You won't believe this -- well, I don't believe it -- but it's 77-74.

I think Marbury just talked the ref into calling a foul on him and not one of his teammates.

He just missed a three-pointer that would have tied the game.

David Harrison is having himself a good game. Shanxi has no one who can match up with him.

79-74, nice offensive rebound by Shanxi...

What a prosaic update.

With Marbury on the bench at the end of the third quarter, Guangdong scored a layup at the buzzer to go ahead 84-76.

Marbury back in the game. He has 11 assists through three quarters.

Fast-break three cuts the deficit to 5 with 11 minutes left.

Guangdong answers. They're tough in the paint.

Another three by No. 24. 86-82, fans like it.

Hack-a-big-man continues.

6:57 left in fourth quarter: 95-87 Guangdong...

Stoppage in play because fans started throwing stuff onto the floor again. It started with a pack of matches and escalated. Guangdong players left the court, and that got the fans even more stirred up.

No ejections, though a guy almost got into a fight with a cop. Video later.

UPDATE: Video here. You can feel the tension building as Shanxi closes within one point...

I should mention here that Shanxi got fined 40,000 yuan by the CBA after Sunday's debacle.

What's the point of inviting in cops when they do jack shit? If you're going to bring in police -- who aren't exactly respected in this town -- you should at least bring ENOUGH so that they're helpful.

Game's resuming...

Guangdong's a tough team, and as tough teams do they play all 48 minutes, coming at their opponents relentlessly. Marbury just assisted on another three-pointer, but Shanxi's down 10.

On the lighter side of things, Harrison air-balled a free throw and laughed about it. Walking back, he mock shot himself in the head, and Smush wouldn't give him any love, retracting his hand as Harrison was looking for a low-five.

Marbury's talking to the refs in English, saying, "Same thing..." Just talking...

With three minutes to go, it's 109-96 Guangdong.

Question: If Steve Nash went to the New Jersey Nets, how many more games would they win?

Taylor three-pointer makes it 109-101 with 2 minutes to go. They're making an announcement about Anta, the shoe company, giving Taylor some money for charity or something, I'm not sure. There's a game going on...

Marbury just picked up his 15th assist. Shanxi's three-pointers have kept them in the game, but they're down by a bit too much. Guangdong runs out the clock at the other end. A physical, emotion, high-strung game comes to an end, 113-104.

Marbury's final stat line: 43 minutes (rather, 42 minutes and a few seconds -- I think we round up?), 15 points, 4 for 18 shooting*, 1 for 7 3PT, 4 rebounds, 1 block, 3 steals, 15 assists, drew 8 fouls, committed 3 fouls and 3 turnovers.

*CORRECTION APPENDED. He went 3 for 11 from two-point range, not 3 for 11 from the field (he is now 1 for 13 from beyond the arc; if he'd had his shooting touch the last two games, Shanxi would be 2-0 with him).

10:27 p.m.: One last update. Apparently a group of angry fans surrounded the referees' locker room after the game, and the refs were too scared to leave. The cops were called in to shoo away the crowd, at which point the refs made their getaway from a back door.

If the Shanxi team were any good at all, I don't know how any opposing team could win in this place. Such hostility.

Stephon Marbury at Zhonyu's practice - last video from Shanxi

Just attended the Shanxi Zhongyu practice this afternoon and took the following video on my SLR camera. It was a good that I was using a small camera, because the coach, Wu Qinglong, spotted a guy with a video camera on a tripod and yelled at him to turn it off. "Turn that off or get out," he said. "You can't film practices. You know that. Common sense. Turn that off." "It's off, it's off," the reporter said, reeling.

Wu, I should mention really quick, is one of the most interesting personalities in the Chinese Basketball Association, a former national team guard whose teammates included Wang Zhizhi and Ma Jian, the first Chinese player to play in the NCAA, for Utah (fore-runner to Jeremy Lin, I suppose you can say).

The way he rips into his players reminded me of Bob Knight. "What happened? Two straight? You sleeping out there?" The voice gradually gets louder, and he punctuates his remarks with silence that is utterly devastating. (In the video you'll see Stephon Marbury filling this silence with applause and encouragement -- "He's making you better, he's making you better.") Another similarity between Wu and Knight is the charm Wu seems to have with the media -- the local journalists seem to want his approval, and laugh quickly at his quips.



What you only get a glimpse of in the video is the court presence Marbury has when the ball's not in play. He's like a coach out there, which is exactly what someone said during the game Sunday. At one point, while talking to a Chinese teammate who knew not a lick of English, he looked over to the sideline and asked the translator, "How do you say 'ball'?"

"Qiu."

Apparently too hard to say, he proceeded in English, "Most important thing is the ball. Doesnt' matter where you're at. Most important thing is to stop the ball."

A bit later Coach Wu waved the translator over for the Chinese player's benefit.

And finally, I'd like to mention that in a pre-practice stretching circle with everyone on the floor, Marbury, with someone helping him stretch by pushing on his upper back, unleashed a fart that had the guys next to him laughing.

POSTSCRIPT: I say this is the final video because I was nearly kicked out of practice today. Will explain later.

Another video of Stephon Marbury in his first CBA game

The conclusion to the above video is here.

And here's another one of him at Saturday's shoot-around.

Five seconds left and Shanxi down one point, ball in Marbury's hands...

Video of beginning of the game here.

Live from Binhe Sports Stadium in Taiyuan, Shanxi

UPDATE, video of game -- specifically the conclusion -- here.

I'll be live-blogging Marbury's first game in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) from press row, starting now. Updates will go at bottom.

Shanxi Zhongyu vs. Dongguan Leopards, 7:30 p.m. local time tipoff.

Expecting a packed house today.

6:50 p.m.: If there was any need for proof that Marbury is in the lineup, see the scoreboard, right.

6:55 p.m.: Stephon Marbury just took the court. There was the expected roar, but the stands are anything from packed, so it wasn't anything close to what I'm expecting when he's actually announced.

Going to be a tough game for Dongguan. Whatever the spread is, take the home team.

7:07: PA reverb. Ow.

7:22 p.m.: Under seven minutes until national anthem. Players just left the court. When I come back next the game will have started (CCTV5, or Zhibo8), and I'll have pictures for you.

8:46 p.m.: The pictures will have to wait. Too much happening, and too fast. Halftime seemed to fly by.

Marbury just converted an and-1 (at the 4:17 mark) and has taken a seat for a breather. It is knotted at 76 with 3:10 remaining. (Time is running as I type -- the beauty of the live blog.)

The PA announcer recently said, "Everyone please sit down, please sit down, there're lots of people today, please sit down."

One thing I won't understand about sports in China: the insistence on remaining seated. But, as the PA announcer also pointed out, "let's distract the opposing free throw shooter!"

8:47 p.m.: Marbury is playing decent. I don't think he has a turnover, and if so, not more than one. But his jump shot has been failing him tonight. What I'd love to see out of him -- speaking strictly from a sports perspective -- is more drives to the basket. He's had no fewer than four layups, and I think maybe as many as six. His and-1 was a twirling, over-the-head shot with body contact, the sort of shot that NBA players are capable of making 80 percent of the time but is somewhat of a spectacle here.

The Dongguan point guard, Tre Kelly, whom I interviewed earlier today for, is driving hard at Marbury, and the two of them are really going at it. They're both in right now.

8:51: Marbury just stole the ball, dribbled behind his back, scoop passed it to the trailer and asked for a foul when it wasn't called. Then the coach asked for it, and the fans...

Well, what's obvious to me is that Shanxi is a better team with Marbury running the point. He's been trying to get others involved, and I'm thinking after tonight -- or Wednesday -- he's going to try creating more for himself.

And by the way, I couldn't post anything all of the first half because I couldn't find a place to place my laptop. This building is packed. Not one empty seat in the arena, and I mean it.

I'm working currently from the ledge of the media podium. My legs are getting tired.

9:00 p.m.: Crowd getting into it. Taylor (other American player on Shanxi) just waved in front of ref's face, as if to say, "You're not seeing anything." Ref twirled around sternly, as if to T him up. The crowd started chanting something like, "Blow the whistle." Later a fan said, "Better get on the bus fast afterwards!"

9:01 p.m.: Refs miss an OBVIOUS call. Ball had hit rim, they didn't see it, called 24-second violation.

9:02 p.m.: "Hey ref, you better watch out!"

9:03 p.m.: Wow. Lighters are RAINING from the stands. PA announcer doing his best to keep order. I think I saw Marbury smirk.

Video later.

They were chanting "heishao," not "chuishao." Black whistle. Accusing the refs of being bought out.

In China, this is not a light accusation, but I bet the chant happens all the time.

9:12: 94-92 Dongguan with 4 minutes left.

By the way, this game is NOT on CCTV5, as I'd assumed. Is the government in on the fix???

9:21: Hotly contested contest. 99-98 home team with 1:18 left. Camera battery running low!

9:39 p.m.: So, down by one with five seconds left and inbounding from halfcourt, who do you think gets the ball?

The defense knew it too, and when they collapsed on Marbury he passed it out back up to the three-point line, where Taylor's shot hit the front rim, backboard, and may have chipped the rim again. Final score: 101-100, Dongguan.

Afterwards fans popped their thunderstix in succession/unison, creating noises that sounded like firecrackers. It seems even more like that when you consider the fans have lit up cigarettes. Nothing thrown though.

As I type a fan is running into the stands trying to start a fight, about 20 meters down.

Pictures to come.