Strategic Moves during the last minutes of an NBA game

The following two articles explain some of the strategic moves that go on in the last minutes of an NBA game. We all know that depending on the point differential and remaining time, coaches constantly change their strategies to be ahead of the game. Due to the certainty feature of this timed sport, a tie option is 3 times more heavily observed than it normally would have been as can be seen in the second link. Strategies include slowing down the game, fouling, taking breaks, changing players etc. Over the past decades these strategies have matured and came almost to a perfection thanks to the repetition of the game. Coach of a team estimates the potential moves of the other team, and calculates his best move to get the highest payoff. Since the major aim is to be strategically unpredictable to the other team, the dynamic/competitive nature of basketball results in a mixed strategy equilibrium.

http://www.sportshistory.us/uncertainty.html

http://cheeptalk.wordpress.com/2009/06/10/the-overtime-spike-in-nba-basketball