I don’t think that works, imo. If you bring in a guy like JJ, he can score and get to the basket and knock down some 3s, but he can’t defend well.
JJ went from being the 9th best defender out of 10 guys last year, to the 5th best out of 10 this year. So, he's gotten better.
Taylor is a better defender but he’s not that athletic and cant get to the rim or score as well as JJ so he hurts you on offense. Carlos is the only pure PG but he’s small and slower, doesn’t shoot 3s well, and is not great at defense (though he tries). Cuffe is athletic and quick and a decent defender but can’t pass, run the team and has struggled shooting 3s. He’s also not as good as JJ at getting to the rack. Choppa works hard but is a one dimensional shooter right now.
You're agreeing that all these guys have holes in their games, right?
Playing mediocre players fewer minutes doesn’t help, imo. Since you can only play 2 or 3 guards, whoever you have out there at any one time is going to have serious limitations in important facets of the game.
So, does playing a guy like Eddie Lampkin work better if he plays 35 minutes (with his back) or 25 minutes? Is it better for Naheem McLeod to play zero minutes, or 5-10 minutes in the middle of the zone, just to change the momentum of the game? You shouldn't play EITHER of those guys too much, because they have big weaknesses in their games.
If JJ isn't good at setting up others, then you can't play him 35 minutes with the ball in his hands the whole time. You do have to play another guy at PG. Should Carlos have played 35 minutes, or 15? Should Moore have played 35 minutes when he was "defense optional"? You just can't do that. Right?
How much should Petar play? How much should Donnie have played? Neither is a finished product, but they bring different things to the table. Petar at least challenges shots. Donnie was a matador interior defender, just like Eddie for most of the year. But Donnie could score and got rebounds with just his athleticism.
If Eddie and Donnie don't defend the rim, the other 2 guys
have to see some minutes. Not be starters, but it helps the team, and can change the energy and flow of a game to change things up.
When people say Autry lacks feel for coaching the game, this is exactly what you should consider. Situational substitutions. Changing up defenses masks deficiencies, and make an offense that has been torching you adjust and attack differently. Even if it's only for a few minutes. Use the press as a weapon, not out of desperation. There is so much strategy to coaching that he just failed to grasp this year.
