Well for me, it's not a issue. I manually control a "big" and turbo back since my guards are usually closest to the back court anyway. Never had a problem stopping this. Also, in the scenario when the defense has created a turnover, 9xs out of ten they have numbers. Just like in football if a guy makes an interception on certain parts of the field. That's why they have the created the term "defense is my offense" or something of the nature.
Another scenario, if ur one to attack the interior often and get ur shot blocked, that can lead to a fast break with good outlets.
Have I seen a guy lag when he should be in sprint mode? Yes. But it's A.I.. not going to be 100%, nor will it ever. U have a joystick in ur hands. Make him sprint. If we keep asking the devs to tweak everything eventually there's comes a point when we, the gamers, is no longer really controlling the players on the screen.
And I personally never select "crash offensive boards" in POE.