If a top-half coach doesn’t want to pander to the lowest common denominator. Then a bottom-half coach wants to bring the average up, taking the whole into consideration.
And the players?
A bottom-half player has everything to gain and nothing to lose. The underdogs.
If you are a bottom half coach, all about the team, participation, and enjoyment. Then play. Change the rules.
Teach the kids how to play as a team. How to figure out the rule changes. And how to deal with any frustration brought about by a change in the order.
Encourage the top half players to stay in the game, and in time they will, if they are good enough, find a way to win.
By valuing problem-solving over points scored. The team over the individual. You changed the game. And that might just be the point you were trying to make.