Here's the thing. This is a two part issue -- Micro and Macro.
The unassailable truth. The micro. Self benched Grimes. We were down. We looked bad. Then, starting Garrett, we went on 22-0 run and blew the doors off of Marquette. So looking at this from just the game last night, how can we question that decision? Of course, we don't know if starting Grimes would have rendered the same result. But that's not really fair to look at a single game that way. All that matters in a single-game analysis is the score. And that cuts both ways. When we lose, those sort of decisions fall on Self as well. I have no issues with how we won last night. We won.
Where I think @BShark is dead on here is the macro. The big picture here is Self's unfortunate (and also unassailable) history of reverting to lower tier players, and getting comfortable with them. Not permitting them to play through mistakes. The end result is also the best judge. And in every instance he has done this, big picture, our season has ended prematurely. Relying on the likes of B-Star, Traylor, and Lucas were ridiculous decisions given the alternatives. Again, we judge on results. I always chuckle about this stuff because we called it at the time. With Lucas, our most recent and unfortunate example, relying on a low talent big, bumping his ceiling, never sniffs the NBA -- it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that when you rely on those kinds of players against higher tier talent, like you will see in the NCAA tourney, you're chances of losing such a match skyrocket. But we had folks here actually wanting to debate that point, even after the fact, when the future was already predicted for them -- on more than one occasion.
Heck, we whined for years about Self not adapting his system to his talent. We wanted more threes. We discussed 4/1. We cringed at force-feeding the post. I flat imploded after a game at Sprint Center (I think Utah) where we drilled threes, got to a 20 point lead, and then Self at halftime castigated Perry Ellis and his team for shooting threes (fools gold -- ah, seems a long time ago). Self certainly wasn't embracing where the CBB game was going. The Self lackeys screamed, called names, accused some of not being fans (the "I'm more of a fan than you" tripe) -- still laughable. Of course, now Self does exactly what we discussed. In fact, he embraces it. Guess what? This is unassailable. Self was wrong for a long time OR now he's right. Can't have it both ways. The answer, by the way, is that he's correct now.
Well, @BShark is predicting the future right now for you. So listen up. We've been here before. If we rely on a guy like Garrett in certain matchups, he'll kill our season. Just like the B-Stars, and Traylors, and Lucases of nightmare's past. Very importantly, his defense is not "lock down", and certainly not good enough in the big picture to take the incredible hit offensively. The sheer incompetence offensively is not manageable.
However, Garrett can certainly be useful, situationally. Like last night.
But here's my take on this. Self knows. He knows good and well that having Garrett regularly play 28 minutes will not allow this team to get to the Final Four. Like a road block. Garrett is showing significant signs of a very low offensive ceiling. We can be confident that Self knows. So we can avoid panic mode.
Bill Self did not start Garrett. He started B-Star, he started Lucas, he started Traylor. All the freaking time. And he insisted on playing them in all situations. Go-to guys. I'm very certain that Garrett is not going to be a go-to guy in all situations.
Bill Self has started Grimes. He knows Grimes is one of our necessary tickets to the Final Four. And to have a chance to win it all, he's got to be a main cog. A big piece. But as @Kcmatt7 said, last night was on Grimes. Heck, actually, I thought it was brilliant and gutsy to come out with Garrett. In the past, I'd have thought differently. Why? Because I think Bill Self has changed quite a bit. I always like to point this out, but we don't see the missed three point shot flopping around on the bench anymore. He's in a different place.
And I've said this before, but I think it bears repeating. When we wanted Self to change, it was not about anyone allegedly being "smarter" than Bill Self. It was about Bill Self knowing, as a leader, that his way is the right way. Self being confident in that. His way or the highway. Many great leaders get to their pinnacle that way. Self was one. He didn't get to where he was by adapting. He got to where he was by knowing the path. That makes it hard for coaches to change. Hard for any leader to change. But he has. Think about the evolution of the game in the past 10 years. I think it's much harder for a guy in Self's position to change than one might think. He's got more at stake. We can all say, "shoot more three pointers", but when the guy won a NC one way, I think it's reasonable to see a resistance to changing from that blueprint. But he has.
I have great faith that Garrett will not be this season's personnel disaster. And I have great faith that Self knows that without Grimes playing well and playing big minutes, this team is not a Final Four team. In the past, I would have sheer dread about future playing time. Now, I firmly believe that Bill Self is a different coach than he was in the past. @BShark can relax a bit.
As an aside, we know that the narrative on Garrett might change. He could make a big leap at some point. His offensive play could really improve I guess. There is that possibility. It just doesn't look much like anything near a probability at this point offensively, and there's nothing that indicates any real hope from what we've seen.
The obvious point is that Grimes' skill level is NBA quality. Much better to bank on that development, minutes-wise, than Garrett.
I will note -- and thank you @wissox -- we have our first "enjoy the ride" suggestion, and just four games in.
