I went back and re-watched the end of the 4th quarter, because I thought I saw something interesting, but wanted to confirm it. At about the 5 minute mark Ochai is about to check in, but then Simone hits a contested 3 to pull us within 1 and Hardy has Ochai go back to the bench and leaves Simone in to finish the game (eventually replacing KO with Ochai). Simone goes on to miss two open 3s, get a layup blocked, and commit an offensive foul to help seal the loss.
I think this brings up an interesting discussion, on coaching by feel vs coaching by logic. I think logic would say that Ochai is the better player and should have been in the game earlier, but obviously Hardy went by feel after watching Simone nail a 3 after having an incredible first half of the game as well. Ultimately I'm not sure it would have made too much of a difference, but it's something interesting for me to think about.
I do think it's nice to be able to reward a player who is playing well, especially over someone who isn't significantly better. On the negative side, I think it can throw off rotations. Also, by keeping someone in that has played well, you are likely giving them extended minutes vs what they are used to, meaning they are likely to be more fatigued.
Thoughts?
