Eli5: Why do basketball coaches pull their best players when they have 3 or 4 fouls?

Question

Why not just let them play for as long as they can and then adjust to missing that player when they foul out with 5 fouls?

In: Other

Answer 1

To save them for the most important part of the game, the end. People often joke that only the last 5 minutes of a basketball game matter.