Ty Lawson missed his third consecutive game because of a sprained ankle on Sunday night as the Clippers snapped the Nuggets’ six-game win streak. The Nuggets (14-6) still boast the second-best record in the Western Conference.

"When we don't have Ty, the versatility of the team, the confidence that comes with being short one of your best players, it's not how you lose the game, it's the confidence you don't have all the time," Karl said.

In the Denver style of basketball, Lawson is the centerpiece.

Karl wants the Nuggets to push the pace, and Lawson keeps that pace fast. The former North Carolina star keeps the Nuggets on schedule with what they want to do offensively and makes them more dangerous doing it.

"How we like to play and how we play efficiently is with a lot of speed and open-court quickness and aggressiveness," Karl said. "We did a good job of getting a lot of that into the game (against the Clippers), but we didn't get as much as we normally get into the game. Probably the efficiency of our pick-and-roll game, our penetration game, was down because Ty didn't have 20 of those possessions.

"Without Ty, it's above average. With Ty, it's special."