When the second stage of the 2023-24 Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league's regular season commences on Friday, all 20 teams will know how much significance this phase holds in their contention for a berth in the playoffs.

With 29 rounds of matches in this stage, which account for more than half the regular season schedule, the route toward the playoffs hinges on every team's roster depth, while standings are expected to fluctuate with comebacks and injuries taking place down the stretch.

Guo Ailun (C) of Liaoning Flying Leopards goes for a lay-up during the Game 1 of the best-of-three quarterfinals between Liaoning Flying Leopards and Beijing Ducks at the playoffs of 2022-2023 season of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province, April 18, 2023. (Xinhua/Pan Yulong)

As the only unbeaten side in the first stage, defending champions the Liaoning Flying Leopards are desperate for the return of their star guard Guo Ailun, who has not played a single game this season as he nurses a leg injury.

Without Guo, who boasts top-notch capability to penetrate opponents' defense, Liaoning will pin hopes on its balance to stay top of the table, with playmaker Zhao Jiwei excellently knitting the team's offense together with his game vision, while veterans Han Dejun and Li Xiaoxu defy their age to constantly contribute in the paint, and overseas players Kyle Fogg and Eric Moreland continued to show their value.

Liaoning has received a big boost in its backcourt as 21-year-old scoring guard Li Huyi averaged 6.6 points and 2.2 rebounds per game in his first year in the pro league, which, to a certain extent, has helped to fill the gap caused by Guo's absence and bolster Liaoning's quest for a third consecutive championship.

The Guangdong Southern Tigers, 11-time CBA league winners, also have a game-changer to wait for.

Big man Zhou Qi, who joined Guangdong after five seasons with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers, hasn't appeared on court so far, with his last CBA match in the 2020-21 season.

But under experienced coach Du Feng, Guangdong is still displaying its class to sit fourth in the standings.

Guangdong attempted to make up for the loss in the paint by improving its game pace through guards Hu Mingxuan, Xu Jie, Marshon Brooks and Tremont Waters, racking up a sixth-best average of 116.5 points per 100 possessions.

International guard Zhao Rui, who departed Guangdong during the offseason to Xinjiang, played only three games in the first stage, averaging 13.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists.

Zhao is one of several big off-season transfers for Xinjiang, who is billed as one of title contenders in the current campaign.

Often entering the game in the second unit, Dominique Jones contributed an average of 17.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 7.7 assists, while starting center Wu Guanxi, who joined from the Jiangsu Dragons, registered an average of 9.0 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. Along with Qi Lin and Abdusalam Abdurexit, Xinjiang can expect to come up big with Zhao back in its roster.

In addition to comebacks, the league will also see a new influx of overseas players ahead of its second stage, reflecting a certain team's mindset of approaching the upcoming games.

The Zhejiang Golden Bulls announced on November 1 that they had signed this year's NBA G League MVP Carlik Jones.

Jones averaged 20.4 points and 10.6 assists representing South Sudan at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, and his arrival is deemed as a huge boost for last season's finalists, who already have quality domestic players like Wu Qian, Yu Jiahao, Lu Wenbo, Cheng Shuaipeng and Wang Yibo.

But some teams received unfavorable news prior to the next stage.

The Fujian Sturgeons announced on November 21 that their sharpshooter Chen Linjian, who had averaged 19.4 points through shooting 44.3 percent from behind the arc, had broken his right leg in a traffic accident during the break and undergone surgery. His absence will be a heavy blow for Fujian, often seen as a minnow in past seasons while currently ranking 12th, a threshold spot for the playoffs.

Spanning more than two months until February 2024, the second stage requires teams to keep their roster as healthy as possible, if they want to keep playoffs qualification in their sights

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