You know when it says adjust at halftime losing by 5 or more
I started using never defensively and have been successful
I wonder if I should change it because I miss in the playoffs soon

I don't change tempo, but I do change if losing.

Think about it this way. You are playing a -2 defense and the opposition, who doesn't normally have a good outside game is lighting it up from beyond the arc. Wouldn't you, as a coach, push the defense out a bit  to slow them down or are you going to continue to let them shoot the open three?

great point that's what I was thinking because once its set there is no coaching options like football

Something I've always been curious about but never actually asked: Do you guys adjust those numbers based on your starting position or just have standard late game settings? In other words, if you start at say -3, would your losing late positioning be something like -1 or 0, or do you always leave it set at something like +2?