There are coaches and then there are armchair coaches. This is true in Philippine basketball, where each and every basketball aficionado has an analysis on what went wrong in every basketball game. But remember that basketball coaches live and die with their best judgment in a game’s every quarter, every minute up to the very last second.

Comments would usually concern these things and here are usually the answers to be considered before jumping into conclusions:

1) Why wasn’t this or that player utilized for the game? –There are so many answers to this question. Fact is, we only get a part of the picture. It is possible that the player has an injury and it would be more prudent not to use him for the game after gauging the game and prospects for the team at the long run. It could also be possible that the player was not practicing hard enough and even if he is the star of the team, the coach has to make the decision to bench the player and give the minutes to a much more deserving player.

2) Why is this player getting more minutes than the other?—There are also a lot of answers to this one. It is possible that the coach is keeping the team fresh by shuffling his players based on a pre-game plan. It is also possible that based on the said team plan concerning an opponent, this or that player would get more minutes based on the matchups. Or simply which players would give the team the advantage offensively or defensively at any given game.

3) Related to No. 2, a coach may opt to utilize combinations that are normally not standard. We have seen teams use three or four big guards (particularly when the guards involved are big enough and fast enough to fill to other spots, thus giving the team the advantage when the coach wants to speed up the game and take advantage in transition). Same with a coach who uses several big men who can both play outside and inside with the same motive.

4) Why is the team running instead or using halfcourt offense? It is possible that the coach feels that the team has the advantage of getting easy points in transition although this depends on defensive rebounds and how fast the pointguard can bring the ball downcourt even before the opponents defense is set up. There are cases that when the action gets too helter-skelter that the pointguard needs to call a play to set things in order.

5) Why is this player getting the ball more often? Let us realize that there are go-to-guys in the team and then there are those who fill in roles. Very rarely is a team made up of offensive players and if this much if true, then a lot of egos would have be smoothened in terms who gets the most number of touches. Some coaches depend on rhythm and once they see a player practically catch fire and find this sustainable, then the ball should be in his hands by all means necessary.

6) Zone, man-to-man, man-zone, etc.? A coach can opt for zone if he feels that this could curtail an opponent’s inside game by concentrating the most personnel at the shaded lane. But playing strict zone can also be a gamble if the opponent can shoot the ball from the outside. Some teams opt to trap after every basket and every freethrow made. It is a case to case basis on how the coach sees where the bigger defensive advantage would lie at any given time.

Some self-styled basketball experts may comment all they want from the comfort of their ringside seats, but it is really different once you are the one making all the decisions at the bench. Faced with so many details (particularly with the game on the line), a coach has to give importance to the things that he feels are the most important.