Resting the starters is the substitution of regular players on a sports team with backup players, and it occurs when a team has clinched at least a playoff berth, often its division, and in many cases, home advantage, and no further regular season losses would hurt the team in the standings (or, inversely, if the team has been eliminated from playoff contention and has nothing further to gain by playing). This enables the team to avoid risking injury to the starters, and to give real life playing practice to backup players.