The point is, that many fights in Naruto would've turned out completely different if characters had a 'mind of their own' so to speak. Kishimoto just wanted to make it more interesting so he made them fight rather recklessly most of the time. For example:
If Lee didn't open all five gates against Gaara, he still would've beaten him with only his weights off. Lee has amazing stamina and even more amazing speed so he would've kept tearing down Gaara's armor until Gaara was out of chakra. When he was out of chakra, Lee could easily pound him until he was unconscious.
Gaara did the same thing against Kimimaro. He used up all his chakra with advnaced techniques, when he could've just let the sand protect him, and eventually, when Kimimaro was exhausted and eroded by his disease, he could've pulled off a Desert Coffin on him. Kimimaro = dead.
Though this isn't just in Naruto. Other anime present this 'flaw', if you could call it that, as well. Bleach for example:
When Ichigo was fighting Byakuya, there was a moment when he had his Zanpakutoh pointed at Byakuya's throat. Had he pierced his throat, the fight would've been over right there. He could've even cut off his head.
Also DBZ:
Super Vegeta could've destroyed Stage 2 Cell right there. Even if he let him get android 18, Krillin could've disabled her. Even if he didn't disable her, Trunks could've taken out Cell in a single, powerful blast. Then he could've destroyed Android 18.
Goku could've killed Frieza as SSJ before Frieza powered up completely, or before he even tried to destroy the planet. He could've owned him easily. He was faster, stronger, and angrier. Yet he let Frieza fool around and almost died because of it.
I can go on forever with examples, but that's not the point. The point is that, as Hitokiri said, you cannot always judge made-up fights by adding up the results of fights that happened for real. Because a lot of them would've ended up completely different if characters has 'minds of their own', if you could call it that.