I do think Geno needs another motivation to deviate from his short rotation norm. Whether that is fear of being worn down by deeper teams I don't know. You could also turn that around as an aggressive strategy, if we used our bench a great deal, where we could be the team wearing out the other team's starters and perhaps forcing them to use their much weaker bench players against our strong one.
We are not healthy enough to even consider that option currently, but have had several seasons where going into the season, a 10 player rotation, pressing and fast breaking for much of the game was a viable option, and could be done with all very highly capable players, not players at the level of Ines or Amari.
Geno's aversion to a long rotation has good points and bad points, but it clearly takes some of those strategic options off the table. You can't play at a super fast pace and press often without using a deep bench. Most coaches don't go to 10, often because the #6 or #7 player is way better than #9 or #10. Once Paige and Ice were out, that applied to us as well, but if everyone had been healthy, we looked to be a very talented top 10, with every one of those players being above average compared to most Division 1 teams.
This year he has no choice, but next year he presumably will, as he has for several years when he steered clear of it even when he had the opportunity. I have generally liked the press when we have used it, and I think we have seen a substantial increase in pace mostly a result of turning the offense over to Nika who pushes the ball up the floor way more than our other guards, and the return of Aubrey and more use of Ayanna in the future should help that too.
Maybe if we tried it more it wouldn't work, but while I understand this year, I think we have the pieces in place next year to press, run, and use a full 10 player rotation, where we are the team wearing out the other team's stars, and then dominating their bench even more than our starters do against their starters. At a minimum try it a little in the games that are not in doubt, and if it succeeds at least put it in your toolbox you take to every game, as an option to use as needed.
Anyway that is more of a next year debate, and of course one of the all time favorites here on the Boneyard, but just one final point. If you do have say a 10 player rotation that gets used to each other, an injury or two is much more easily dealt with. You can shorten to 9 or 8 without throwing somebody new into the mix that is not used to playing with the other healthy players. It is a relatively easy transition. If your rotation is 6 or 7, every injury involves major minute management and throwing inexperienced players into positions out of their comfort zone.
