Fatigue Factor: How To Handle 2 Games In 2 Days

The long and busy NBA season provides numerous situations where one team is playing its second game in as many days. Knowing how to handle these back-to-back spots can be the key to a profitable season. 

All else being equal, a rested team will generally outperform a team playing with no rest. It's not as easy as just blindly betting on the rested team though. We need to look at a lot of other factors. Sometimes the best value comes from actually playing on the team with no rest. Knowing the answers to the following questions is a good place to start. 

Was the first leg of the back-to-back a win or a loss? Different teams react differently. 

Was the first leg of the back-to-back an "emotional" game against a division rival? Or, was it a less significant game against a non-conference opponent? 

Did the starters log heavy minutes in a close (Overtime?) game? Or, were they able to check out of the game early, due to it being a blowout? 

It's also important to recognize that not all teams react the same way to playing with no rest. Some teams are terrible in that situation while others actually seem to thrive.

We can take things deeper. Some teams are fine if playing back-to-back home games OR, if playing a home game followed by an away game. But, they may struggle when playing 2 road games in 2 days. 

Lastly, remember to also look at totals. Some teams don't have many tendencies toward winning or losing when playing back-to-back games. However, they may tend to play high or low-scoring games.  For example, the Wizards are 7-1 to the under when playing with no rest. Memphis is 6-1 to the under. On the other hand, OKC and Milwaukee have both gone over 6 of 7 times. 

Here's a list of how the teams have been doing, when playing the second of back-to-back games. (Stats are up to January 29th.)

RECORDS WITH NO REST

ATLANTA SU: 2-6  ATS: 1-7   O/U: 4-3-1
BOSTON SU: 6-2. ATS: 5-3  O/U: 4-4
BROOKLYN SU: 2-4  ATS: 2-3=1  O/U: 4-2
CHARLOTTE SU: 1-6  ATS: 4-3.  O/U: 4-3
CHICAGO SU: 3-5   ATS: 3-5   O/U: 4-4
CLEVELAND SU: 2-4   ATS: 3-3  O/U: 4-2
DALLAS SU: 4-4  ATS: 4-4  O/U: 5-3
DENVER SU: 6-3. ATS: 3-6.  O/U: 5-4
DETROIT SU: 2-6. ATS: 4-4. O/U: 5-3
GOLDEN STATE SU: 5-3  ATS: 5-3. O/U: 6-2
HOUSTON SU: 2-7  ATS: 5-4. O/U: 5-4
INDIANA SU: 2-7  ATS: 2-7  O/U: 4-5
LA CLIPPERS SU: 4-3   ATS: 4-3. O/U: 4-3
LA LAKERS SU: 2-5. ATS: 1-5-1. O/U: 4-3
MEMPHIS SU: 1-6  ATS: 3-4 O/U: 1-6
MIAMI SU: 2-4  ATS: 1-4-1   O/U: 3-3
MILWAUKEE SU: 6-1   ATS: 4-3   O/U: 6-1
MINNESOTA SU: 3-2.  ATS: 2-3. O/U: 4-1
NEW ORLEANS SU: 3-4. ATS: 4-3. O/U: 5-2
NEW YORK SU: 4-5. ATS: 3-6. O/U: 4-5
OKLAHOMA CITY SU: 5-2  ATS: 5-2. O/U: 6-1
ORLANDO SU: 2-7  ATS:  4-5. O/U: 4-4-1
PHILADELPHIA SU: 4-4  ATS: 4-4. O/U: 3-5
PHOENIX SU: 5-2  ATS: 3-4. O/U: 5-2
PORTLAND SU: 5-3  ATS:  6-2  O/U: 2-6
SACRAMENTO SU: 2-4. ATS: 1-5. O/U: 2-4
SAN ANTONIO SU: 2-5. ATS: 3-4. O/U: 5-2 
TORONTO SU: 2-6  ATS: 3-5  O/U: 5-3
UTAH SU: 4-4. ATS: 4-4  O/U: 5-2-1
WASHINGTON SU: 0-8. ATS: 4-4  O/U: 1-7