Good post and I agree for the most part, in particular the piece about in-game management. He can definitely improve clock management and on challenges, etc.
I do think that his style of "playing not to lose" is something that for better or worse we will not see change all that much. He may be willing to take a few more chances if Allen proves himself to have the clutch gene, but for the most part McD's style will probably always be defense first, which can have the appearance of a play not to lose approach.
He just comes off to me as the kind of coach who is willing to evaluate every detail, even if it's something he is responsible for. Hopefully he is up to the challenge of improving his responsibilities in 2018.