When do you pull your starters?

[Bwana]

Is it at a certain point spread and time remaining?

How close do you let the other team get before you put them back in?

[Burto]

Its more of a feel thing than an exact time. I would never bring them out untill 4th quarter. Then you might bring them out one at a time.

[motivate]

Never pull all of them early. Leave 2-4 in the game to keep the game in check. Later in the game say 4:00 left in 4th, if up 20+ then pull all or leave one to keep the offense flowing. 
I have seen some coaches get to confident and pull them to quick then win by only 5 or less and even lose some games.

[Quite Frankly]

I agree it's a feel thing.  But what I see are coaches that wait for the other to pull theirs first.  If a team is up say 20 in the middle of the 4th and begins to sub big time, then that seems appropriate.  But if the other coach decides to leave his starters in and not go to his own subs then it's an error on the part of the trailing coach.

Coaches have long memories of things like that.  I've seen it many times.  You never know what water is under the bridge.

That being said here is my close rule of thumb:

If the 4th qtr starts with mercy rule..........right then

Up 20+  5 minutes or so

Up 15+  around 2 minutes to go if the other coach subs with you

[Bwana]

QF thats pretty much my thinking on the subject.. My biggest pet peeve is when you pull your starters and the trailing Coach starts full court pressure either with his starters still in or even with his subs (he hasn't pressed all night).. Thats when the starters go back in and the pressure is put on and a mental note is made..

[CoachJ]

I agree.  It's whether you feel that you have complete control and have the game in hand.  Keeping 2-3 starters isn't a bad idea, if the game is not in doubt.  I witnessed a 7th grade game this year, where the coach went with full court pressure the whole game.  He was up by 25 with 4 minutes left in the fourth when the losing coach decided to make mass subs.  The winning coach did not pull his starters and continued to full court pressure the losing team.  The response of the winning coach was, "We play to win and that's our style."  The winning team had players on it that didn't even get to play and I think this is totally unprofessional.  If I'm winning by 25 points in the fourth quarter I'll make sure all of my players get to touch the floor. 

[Quite Frankly]

I simply can't agree with anyone that says it's their style and they are trying to get better when the lead is so large at such a late stage.

Against certain teams, you are inviting physical play as a form of retaliation.

It all comes around.

[scv]

really depends on the situation. some coaches won't run up the score with their starters, other's will let their starters score as much as they can for posterity. in any case, sportsmanship should be considered the top priority of any coach. the rules of thumbs i don't necessarily agree with. It's totally depended on the type of situation. A team up 15 with two minutes to go can lose that lead in a matter of seconds - seen that happen too many times. don't want to sub all of the starters out like that. maybe up 20-25 would be a different story, but sometimes you can't be too careful. Leads disapate quickly with subs in the game against the other team's starters. Mercy-rule games, staters shouldn't play after the point is reached - in my opinion. let some of the other guys get some PT

[Quite Frankly]

That's why they are called "rules of thumb".

Obv it's dictated by situation.  The point here is how much is enough and safe.  No one has issues with a game that can be considered "still in doubt".

The question is at what point after it's obv do you sub and does the opposition do the same?

One thing to consider when it comes to conference play is the 10 point tie-breaker for playoff seeding.

[scv]

The head coach has the disgression to make the call for safety issues. Not all of your opponents are going to abide by that. If you know you need points, then it'd be the right thing to do get them if the playoffs were on the line and the 10 point tie-breaker was in effect. Why wouldn't a coach do that? If you're safely up - if there is such a thing - would you go for the points or consider pulling out your starters for subs for safety reasons? When is enough - enough?

[Quite Frankly]

I meant that the 10 point was obv a factor.  That's why I said it.  No one argues a 10 point lead.

and it's 'discretion'.

[scv]

whose talking about a 10-point lead? when points are on the line for the playoffs, when is enough-enough?

[Quite Frankly]

Is this a circle?

I only stated that assuring yourself a 10 point lead is obv important.  After that, each situation is different.

But if one coach pulls his starters, the other should be right behind him doing the same. 

[scv]

Not necessarily. You're beating a dead horse with this issue.

[OC]

If the mercy rule is in effect, PULL YOUR STARTERS.  It might not be pretty the rest of the way but a team is not going to make up a 30+ deficit.  If you are up 20, then go with the subs about 3:30 in the fourth.  Up 15, wait until you know for sure they are not going to hit two to three 3's (about :50) in my opinion.  Anything less than that, starters should stay.