It's one of my favorite sports books that Ive read. The idea that you can win by playing someone who's "hot" or sitting someone who's "cold" is not supported by science.
There are several other factors that Pope has to look at involving player matchups and what the other team is doing etc.
That being said, I agree that I would have tried to put knell right back in after a breather. It would be really hard not to. But that's me making decisions based on emotions.