Back-to-back games are a staple in NBA scheduling. While it's most common that teams play with a day or two of rest in between, with those off days typically reserved for traveling if a team is due for a road trip, playing games with no rest in between is becoming more and more of a usual occurrence.

Given the strain that playing a full 48 minutes of NBA basketball can place on an athlete's body, those consecutive stretches can be grueling tests in endurance and push players against the limit of what they can handle.

It's natural, then, that on-court performance could suffer as a result, especially on the tail-end of a back-to-back. The Denver Nuggets have recently experienced that first-hand after suffering a 128-123 loss to the Sacramento Kings, one of the bottom teams in the NBA, during the Nuggets' second game in a row. 

Nuggets Won't Blame Fatigue

While the excuse of fatigue is built into the situation, the Nuggets aren't keen on blaming a lack of rest for their loss.

"I mean that’s just the fatigue of the league. I feel like we all know what we signed up for playing in the NBA. It’s a grind, but I mean it’s just the best job in the world to me," Nuggets forward Peyton Watson said. "I love to go out there and compete no matter the day. We’ve just been a little bit fatigued, a little bit short-handed, but that’s no excuse. We could have done better."

As valid as the issue of fatigue may be playing consecutive games, it's not a unique issue. Every team is subject to a relentless stretch of games in a long 82 game season. The Nuggets clearly know that and know they have to be better moving forward to fight through their fatigue.

Every Team Struggles with Their Schedules

"You can’t use that as an excuse, it’s the NBA. Every team has back-to-backs, every team has to deal with it. This is our home court, so that’s not an excuse," Nuggets forward Cameron Johnson said.

Denver plays again on Nov. 24 against the Memphis Grizzlies and will enjoy a long break after that, but when they return to play on nov. 28, they'll have a chance to prove they can outlast the fatigue of back-to-backs with matchups against the San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns.

It's been a massively successful season for the Nuggets so far with an 11-4 record and they've proven they have the talent to outlast any team no matter the wear and tear from their schedule, not they just have to put it into practice again.