Not just the number of mns but how they're distributed in games. Some players will want flow. You have to wonder how much lack of flow due to frequent subbing has affected our shooting.
In the discussion of flow and substitutions, we tend to forget that when the players come off the court after such short intervals, they're supposed to be badly in need of a blow, anyway. So until players can stay on the court longer without resting, "flow" would come at a cost to every other advantage the system is designed to achieve.
With all their hours of running in practice, everyone should be in their best shape ever. So I suspect that the reason we haven't seen longer intervals evolve over the season is the physical makeup of our roster.
When I see boys from the nearby high school running around town after classes, it's pretty easy at a glance to know who's on the track or cross country team, and which ones are football players getting into shape for spring practice. They're all athletes, but some are obviously built for endurance while others are built for short, powerful bursts.
Our current LV roster has probably 5 or 6 players who could maintain attack-mode at full speed and effort for twice as long as our substitution intervals have been. I don't doubt our players' commitment. But in terms of body types and metabolisms, we're the full spectrum of athletes. Given the need to keep 5 players on the court going all out, we've been necessarily compromised in what we can do on court, and for how long without a breather.
I think the biggest difference we'll see next season will come from having at least 10 players whose bodies and metabolism are built for speed and endurance. And with resulting longer substitution intervals, added benefits from "flow" should also become more apparent.
IMHO
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