Online betting players are anxious to see how the Denver Nuggets handle the stretch run as their coach, George Karl, will be off and on the bench due to his cancer treatments. Will they be able to stay in the race for the No.2 seed, or possibly catch the Lakers at the top of the West?

The Nuggets should be fine without Karl, although we’re sure that their minds will be with him when he’s not on the bench. Karl just missed four games, and the Nuggets went 3-1, winning in Minnesota, New Orleans and Memphis before losing a game late in Houston, and the Nuggets have enough veteran leadership that things shouldn’t change much without Karl. Chauncey Billups is the on-the-floor leader, and Carmelo Anthony isn’t the petulant kid he once was. Even J.R. Smith has improved his shot selection by leaps and bounds, and the Denver bench is still strong.

It’s funny to talk about how the Nuggets could miss Karl, when before last year, it looked like he or Anthony was going to be shipped out of town. Bringing in Billups definitely helped to bridge the gap on the Nuggets, and if anything, Denver will probably use this to inspire them throughout the season. Everyone knows that Karl is brave for putting on the face he has, and the Nuggets appreciate him even making the effort to be there, which means that anything less than 100% effort isn’t fair to the team, or Karl, who at least now has time to fill out his March Madness bracket contest.