Soft-Spoken Karl Gets Win in Return from Cancer Treatments

DENVER -- Even if George Karl wanted to yell, he couldn't.

His Denver Nuggets trailed the woeful Washington Wizards by as many as eight points in the first half Tuesday night at the Pepsi Center and were down 45-39 at the half. But the coach couldn't raise his voice due to a very sore throat from the treatment he is undergoing for a form of throat cancer.

"Especially a game like this,'' Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony said of it being tough for Karl to restrain himself. "But he understands his situation.''

Fortunately for Karl, the Nuggets gave him a second half in which he didn't need to say a peep. They outscored the Wizards by 16 and won 97-87.



Share Karl, who was diagnosed with cancer in January and revealed his condition Feb. 16, had missed his team's recent four-game trip to remain in Denver for treatment. But he was back on the bench Tuesday even if his voice was low and he couldn't say much. Top assistant Adrian Dantley (pictured left), who led the Nuggets to a 3-1 mark on the road, helped out with much of the coaching.

"It felt good just to see him coming back in a happy manner despite all that has been going on,'' said Anthony, who scored a game-high 29 points. "To see him up and not down. We know deep down inside it is a tough task for him to go through. But for him to come here and see us, if we can uplift his spirits it makes us feel good.''

Due to the soreness of his throat, Karl did not meet with the media before or after the game, with Dantley handling those duties. Nuggets players said they didn't even know earlier in the day if Karl would be on the bench Tuesday.

"[Karl] said before the game wins are the best treatment for him. Hopefully, we can keep this thing rolling and win a championship for him, and then he'll just be completely healed. That's the plan.''
- Joey Graham But Karl was there. He got a nice hand from the fans when he walked through the tunnel before the game and took a seat.

"I know that he had a treatment (Tuesday),'' said Nuggets forward Joey Graham. "We didn't know if he would show up. It was good for him. I think the win helped him out. He said before the game wins are the best treatment for him. Hopefully, we can keep this thing rolling and win a championship for him, and then he'll just be completely healed. That's the plan.''

Karl's condition is considered highly treatable, but undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatment has been rugged. ESPN the Magazine writer Rick Reilly spent time with Karl last week, and detailed his treatment. Also, Karl and his family are keeping an online diary about his ordeal.

Karl has lost 15 pounds since treatments began Feb. 16. He will have 12 more after Friday. So, at about five a week, he has about three weeks remaining.

The latter part of the process is considered the roughest. But Washington coach Flip Saunders, who talked with Karl before the game, said he expressed optimism.

"I just told him my prayers are with him,'' Saunders said. "He said he's battling though. He's halfway through. A lot of people thought he wasn't going to come (Tuesday). But I think it was good for him. It gave him a sense of adrenaline because I think it was probably good for him to see the players and the reception he got from people.

"I hope George knows that around the league everyone is thinking about him and they all care about him. ... He says he's going through the process but getting over the hump, and he's starting to feel a little bit better.''



Recent wins have helped. The Nuggets (46-22) have won seven of their past eight. And, counting the Feb. 25 game Karl missed at Golden State, the team is 4-1 with Dantley at the helm.

Dantley said Karl congratulated him on the recent trip, which featured wins at Minnesota, New Orleans and Memphis before an agonizing 125-123 loss Monday at Houston, when Denver blew an 11-point fourth-quarter lead. Dantley did remark Karl told him the Nuggets "should have won'' that game.

It remains to be seen many games Karl might miss on a five-game trip that starts next Tuesday at New York, and continues with games at Boston, Toronto, Orlando and Dallas. The Nuggets could be in jeopardy of Karl not joining them for the first two or three games of the trip, but players insist Karl's fight is galvanizing them.

"That's what happens,'' said Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups. "You've got to bind together. It's just got to be a collective effort. Everybody has to have a little more responsibility.''

Rather than bind together, the Nuggets feel apart at times in Tuesday's first half. Graham admitted that's not exactly the best formula for Karl's health.

"We don't want him to yell or overreact and get that high blood pressure up,'' Graham said.

But Karl kept his cool. During halftime, he spoke in a low voice, telling his players what they needed to do.

They listened. And Karl's return to the bench turned out to be a rousing success.

Chris Tomasson can be reached at tomasson@fanhouse.com or on Twitter @christomasson