When I first read this I was thinking to myself, I pray this isn't a bathroom interview. "echoed and stalls"
"Roy Wonder" would be great, if it weren't a play on the most punchless superhero ever. But, really, we compare Roy to Duncan a lot in terms of his demeanour, professionalism and non-flashy but supremely effective game. Duncan never had a real nickname, either. He was just Tim Duncan. Roy doesn't necessarily need a nickname.
"Yellow Mamba?" Lame. Roy needs something original. I gotta say that Paul Allen IS the best owner in sports.
My friends and I have always thought of Outlaw as a Lycanthrope (werewolf). We call him "The Lycan" mainly because of his habit of the big mouth stretched yell after he dunks. As I was writing this I was thinking that a great nickname for Roy would be "The Count" because just like dracula, he drains the life out of his victims. Count Roy also drains shouts, mesmerizes those he plays against, and has a hunger for more.
I gotta say, it's pretty impressive he was prepping himself for this year's playoff run last May. You just finish winning 41 games, and you say to yourself, "I'll have another month or two of this next year, so I better be ready." I didn't think anybody thought that far ahead about their game.
Roy is impressive, in pretty much every way. Really great to have a player you just don't have to worry about...on the floor he always seems to make the right decisions, in the locker room he seems to be a leader and a great teammate, etc.
Speaking of nicknames, I came up with a new one for Durant during the game last night: "1-of-7 Kevin" EDIT: Oh, and Outlaw's nickname needs to be The Guyver!
I like that. Dracula is often portrayed as very cool on the surface, just like Roy. I can just see Roy in a cape saying "Good evening". Outlaw looks to me like a marionette. Very disjointed.
It was interesting to see Quick bring up the foul on Yao in that game. I remember at that moment hurling insults at the TV I generally keep stashed away in nightmares about Damon Stoudamire. Looking back, it was a really bad play, but not really worthy of that level of invective from me. I think I was just so stunned that Roy did something so stupid. Kind of like the other night when Roy blew an easy layup. It was utterly shocking, because it's just so out of character. Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade are better players than Roy, but among elite shooting guards in this league, there's nobody who night-in, night-out, consistently plays mistake-free basketball better than Roy. Kobe takes crazy low percentage three point shots at the close of tight games when their team is down. Wade sometimes still charges into the paint without a clear plan. Roy just does the right thing. If he really wanted to do copyright infringement of a current superstar, he ought to just call himself LeBron-Lite. 70% of LeBron's speed, size, strength, brains and athleticism. Which still makes him one of the three or four best shooting guards in the game.
I like The Count. It is pretty fitting. Plus he has bad teeth. As for Outlaw, there's only one nickname that fits, and you heard it here first: The Scarecrow. [video=youtube;sSFQy_cLvLU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSFQy_cLvLU[/video] It captures that disjointed, graceless playing style. It hearkens to his backwoods roots. It reflects his aw-shucks good nature. He's got that weird build that looks like it belongs on a post somewhere scaring birds. The handle even sounds a little bad-ass. Still in doubt? Here's the clincher: ask yourself how many times you've said, "If he only had a brain...."
70% of Bron's brains? I don't agree with that (though, I realize you were just going for the straight "70%" theme). I don't think any player has a higher basketball IQ than Roy. 70% of everything else works, though.
