If you want to reduce the risk of delay, a non-stop flight has a lower risk. With a connection, you get delayed if either segment is delayed (i.e. two chances instead of one to get a delay). And delays in your first segment could cause you to miss your connection, which can result in a much longer delay if the next flight to your final destination is several hours later or the next day.
Also, some common connection hubs like ORD, DFW, and ATL have poor on-time records.
No, I know all of that. The poster had said that, if he had to connect, he preferred to have one long non-stop flight combined with a short connecting flight, versus having two flights of equal length. That's what I was asking about.