One reason basketball is fun is because it’s complicated. With 10 players on the court making reads and reacting to movements of both teammates and opponents, we have a chaotic system that often leads to results in a given possession that are difficult to predict.



Because of this, basketball doesn’t provide a lot of opportunities to second-guess strategy. It’s easy to critique playing time and maybe lineup combinations, but beyond that it gets challenging. Late-game play-calling comes under fire, but usually the approach is results-driven. Did the play work? If so, then it was a good call.



Perhaps that’s why there is so much focus on things such as whether to foul when up by three late in the game or whether a player makes clutch free throws instead of the broader issue of whether a coach is running an offense or a defense optimal for his personnel.



But at least with respect to defense, maybe the task isn’t impossible. The good...