If the Nuggets were as young as their next opponent, the last three days might have been handled differently.
But the Nuggets aren’t the Houston Rockets. They aren’t an upstart, largely overlooked team exceeding expectations early in the season and trying to stay hot. They’re more experienced and, yes, probably more tired — a defending champion roster dealing with a short offseason, an injury to a core player and an unkind schedule the first two weeks of the season. The first nine games were cramped into 16 days, including a five-in-seven stretch.
So when Denver gets granted a rare three-day gap between games, rigorous workouts aren’t an emphasis.