Thursday, John C. Townsend put together a great piece on Truth About It explaining how Marcin Gortat has adjusted his game to become an excellent pick and roll partner for John Wall. You should read the whole thing, but here's the essence of the piece:
He's been supercharged from a natural scorer into an ideal offensive machine: Optimus Dime. Wall, much improved in the halfcourt, no longer waves away screens from the Polish Machine and and both players are better off for it.
While I couldn't agree more with the breakdown, the nickname bugged me. Yes, Gortat has been putting himself in optimal position to be on the receiving end of Wall's assists lately, but that nickname was being wasted on Gortat, who already gets to be called The Polish Machine, The Polish Hammer or Sexual White Chocolate, depending on your preference. So I made an appeal to John to reconsider the nickname
I like @JohnCTownsend's "Optimus Dime" nickname for Gortat, but I think it works 10x better for Wall. http://t.co/fFWG1C1x7M
— Jake Whitacre (@jakewhitacre) December 12, 2014
Thankfully, he agreed with me:
@jakewhitacre I'm OK with that! Optimus Dime's a better nickname than Game Changer.
— HELLO my name is (@JohnCTownsend) December 12, 2014
Yes, let us never speak of that nickname again.
@jakewhitacre John Wall shall hereby be referred to as "Optimus Dime." Leggo.
— HELLO my name is (@JohnCTownsend) December 12, 2014
LEGGO, indeed.
Optimus Dime is the absolute perfect name for someone who is in the top three in steals and assists per game. He has that rare blend of size, speed, athleticism and pure point guard instincts that make this nickname perfect for such a transformative talent. And let's not forget, as Wikipedia states well, Optimus Prime is a "brave, powerful, wise and compassionate leader who puts his talent to use improving the universe around him." Sounds a lot like John Wall to us.
As far as I know, no one has asked Wall about whether or not he approves of the Optimus Dime nickname yet, but this is how I would hope he reacts to hearing the nickname.