Had a feeling, haha.
Kihei was a really weird (the weirdest?) example because sometimes his defensive matchup was a nightmare and sometimes it was very good; and the issue was more that we always pressed the “Always Kihei” button rather than mixing and matching with those moments. Much more extreme in PT % and impact than the more recent small ball discussions. At its heart, I think the reason the Kihei debates were so intense over the years (and still feel relevant to me now) was because it was the epitome of CTB jamming a matchup-variable player that he loved into a mainstay role (and the out-of-position crunch that stemmed from that down the lineup). The results were about as swingy as you could expect either way, with some incredible highs and lows - but with the hard to dispute (IMO) argument that if we had reduced and fluctuated his minutes more, that would have been much better after 2020. It’s definitely the biggest data point for the “lineup” concerns, over recent years. Also interestingly, at least to me, is that coincided with a lot of the modern discussion about CTB not having lineup options despite the fact that he was uncompromising on that one.
One difference I’d point out about the Saunders/Power situation, though, is rarely to almost never is it likely to be a better defensive lineup than one with a Center. Not only are BB and Robinson bigger and better rim protectors than Power, but I believe both are just as quick on their feet (I’ll need to see Robinson more but this isn’t a strength of Power’s); so there’s not a ton we’ll gain on the quickness or mobility side from sitting them. But there probably will be matchups where we don’t get punished with it defensively and the tradeoffs offensively are worth it. There were definitely times when having Clark on the floor was the better defensive option; just as there were so many times when it hurt badly.
It took away part of his personality… and his heart.