this question is a bit confusing, because the half time adjustment is for +/-, not tempo. the tempo adjustment does not (except in major blowouts) kick in at halftime.

assuming you are just talking about the tempo adjustment, basically it adjusts when the game starts to get out of hand. that could mean like, 30 points at halftime (i dont think it can adjust before that), or 15 points with 10 minutes left, or 10 points with 5 minutes left... something along those lines. im not sure of the exact cutoffs but thats the general idea. you can set to if winning or if losing, but if you do anytime, it will both increase and decrease the tempo. if you go slowdown, it can escalate all the way to uptempo, and visa versa.

for the +/- setting, which is what you can set at 5 points or whatever, it basically just looks at the type of shots being taken. if they are taking a lot of 3s, it will up your setting (if its not already a strong +). if the opponent doesn't take many 3s at all, it will probably move you to a - setting. the adjustment can be a maximum of 2 off of your current setting. so if you start with a +1, the engine can adjust between a -1 and a +3. i generally play "if losing", although there is certainly merit in playing anytime or never. just depends on your philosophy. few coaches significantly vary the type of shots they take game to game. if they did, theoretically, anytime adjustment would make more sense. most of the time i figure if losing is safe because i just dont want to mess with it. if im winning, i figure i set right. for a while, when i was like, never game planning - i just left it on whatever my base was with an anytime setting. but if i take the time to set it myself, i figure i am generally right, so i only let the engine mess with it if i happen to be losing - when a gamble seems appropriate.

I apologize, I was a little tired when I posted this and got some thoughts mixed up. The question was regarding both the tempo for offense and the plus minus for defense.

On offense is there no other time that the tempo will adjust other than halftime if you let it adjust anytime since it does not specify when the adjustment takes place. Basically, lets say my opponent is hitting a high % of shots compared to me while i'm running uptempo, would the cpu be smart enough to adjust me to normal or slow down? and is this adjustment only at halftime ( this is a basic idea of one possible scenario). The biggest thing is I'm looking to see if there is any specific criteria the cpu uses when making the adjustment and when those adjustments can be made (anytime, or only at the half). Generally I stay at if losing only.

On defense, I see it only makes an adjustment at halftime (I wish they would let the cpu adjust anytime). What criteria does the cpu use to make this adjustment? For example, sag more if opponent is owning the paint or slashing? Go out more if opponent is shooting from the perimeter? My usual experience with this option has not been good if settng to anytime. If I do that and the opponent does something in particular, it seems whatever the cpu moves me to, the opponent starts to take advantage of the other aspect, paint or perimeter. It's been awhile since I've used this, but maybe it's changed some over time?

I'll also add thanks for the response coach. It verifies most of what I was thinking. I really feel like there is room for improvement in both of these areas as they have basically become set and forget for me and I imagine most others. Defensively should not just be a halftime adjustment imo because some players are set to -1 or 0 where they may go inside or outside and it pays to be able to adjust to what they are doing well. Offensively the adjusting tempo could be used to assist in a teams game management where as I said before, an uptempo set by the team may in fact be detrimental to them if the other team is benefitting more from the uptempo (increased shot attempts).

poncho - like i was saying, the tempo can happen as soon as halftime, but tempo adjustments can occur anytime in the 2nd half. the +/- change is halftime ONLY (not counting your set end game setting).

with the tempo, like i said i dont have exact values, but basically it increases tempo if you are losing heavily (to give you a chance - you are always better off to go uptempo when you are down 25-30 at the half, so the engine will change it. im pretty sure down 20 at the half, it won't adjust. and also, if you start slowdown, it will prob go with normal for a short time before uptempo, even with a huge deficit, where as with a starting tempo of normal, it would just jump right to halftime). so basically your tempo if you allow it to adjust is simply a function of the margin of the game, and your starting tempo. those are the only factors. if you are losing by a lot, and you have the adjustment set to anytime or if losing, it will increase your tempo (a lot being variable - that might be 25 points at the half, 15 points at 10 minutes, 10 points at 5 minutes). if you have the adjustment set to anytime or if winning, it will gradually slow your tempo down when you are winning by a lot. thats really all there is to it.

if you want to know the exact cutoffs, its fairly simple, you can just check some play by plays. the example values i provided are probably close enough for most people, but ive never studied it specifically. if you are set to anytime, probably in 1 season of games, you could get within a couple points of  what the cutoffs are at 20, 15, 10, 5 minutes left, and then you could extrapolate the values between, and probably would damn near exactly be able to predict how it works.