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I know it would be significant to have good backups so you can beat weaker teams by benching the starters to get to about 48-72 minutes a week and optimize game shape. For the exception of GS, what I really want to know is within the game, I notice the better the backups the more minutes he will snag from the starters. If a starter is significantly better than their backup they might play the whole game. If you have good backup who plays 15 minutes and the starter player 33 for example compared to 48 minutes by starter alone if backup is crappy. Would it significantly make difference in impact in the game. I guess in other words this question also asks how much of difference would it make if your player gets really tired. And also how much does stamina factors into this?

I think its important to have backups sometimes, for my team for example. I have backups at every position, just in case some one gets injured. But it may not be necessary all the time to have backups, because you can always switch positions. But in the case your starter gets injured, i'd say its nice to have a backup.

Backups are incredibly important to a successful team. To play three games in a week (as during the tournament) you'll need at least 2 players per position otherwise your gameshape will drop quickly and your players won't play well. During games stamina can have a massive impact on a players performance so backups are important there as well to rest the starters.

If you're having a problem with your team not following the lineup you set (starter playing 48 even though a backup is set for the position or backup playing more than the starter) try using the coaching orders "Strictly follow depth chart". That will generally guarantee that no matter the skill difference the backup will at least get some playing time (normally enough over 2 games that the starters gameshape won't be in serious jeopardy). It also stops the coach from changing the backup into the starter for the game if he's more skilled than the designated starter.

Backups are also of course important for injury purposes, but a good doctor can help offset that.

It's true that back-ups are extrememly important for the times in the season where you are playing 3 meaningful games a week. But once you get to two games + scrimmage, their importance goes down significantly. For example the top team in my league has trash back-ups for C and PF but when I watch games against him my team never seems to be able to go on runs with the back-ups in. It also depends on stamina, if your starters have average or above stamina it seems to me that they play more minutes during the game. I have a SF with proficient stamina and a couple of times he has played 46-48 minutes even when I have a back-up assigned in the line-up. Still, if he is playing 46-48 minutes twice a week, his gameshape will suffer