My game tonight would be a huge win for us, and in my never-ending quest to better understand this game, I wanted some feedback on tempo. My starters have advantages in Ath (2 pts), Speed (1 pt), and Stamina (5 pt) while Defense is even. He has 5 freshmen on his bench. Ive had success in the past running uptempo, but wanted to get a little groupthink going on this. Thanks in advance.

ATH SPD dont matter for tempo choice

first question is whether your team is better than his - better team often will want fast or normal, rarely slow

second question is which team is deeper - a team might be better but have less depth - then go normal or slow

if your team is both weaker and less deep, go slow

tempo basically affects the number of possessions - that is its primary effect.  The more possessions the better the odds that the game comes out the way it "should".  Fewer possessions more chance for a few random bits to change the result. .....Hoops is a long markov chain, the longer the "better" in terms of upset avoidance.....

How much effect does tempo actually have on the energy levels of your players during the game?

I think it has a good bit of effect. I run the press a lot, and if I have 10 players they tend to get tired at Fast pace, unless the other team has a zone.

what if the zone team runs uptempo? does that affect your teams stamina?

chapel, that's interesting that you say the other team's defense has a stamina effect on your own team.  I've never observed that relationship.  I thought it was always about tempo vs. tempo, and then if either team ran FB then more possessions would be created on top of the combined tempo effect.  I'll have to pay more attention to that going forward to see this nuance.

I have definitely noticed that when I'm running a zone, my opponents starters stay in significantly longer than against my man or press teams, albeit not quite as dramatic as the difference in how long my own starters stay in. I haven't tried a lot of zone + uptempo, not sure how that would play.