"Ty Lawson walks like he's inflated with helium, floating toward an intended destination, as if arrival would be an unexpected bonus.

He wanders more than walks. Some call him "Snail." As the new guy at North Carolina, he lounged while chiseled upperclassmen ran a timed sprint at a preseason workout. Then the freshman sauntered to the starting line.

"He's got the pants hanging halfway down his butt, his shoes were like untied," said Bobby Frasor?, a former North Carolina teammate. "And then he runs. Everybody was like, 'Whoa.' Super, super fast."

Lawson says he has an alter ego: Chico. That's the nickname they gave him in Lithuania during the NBA lockout last year. Ty is the guy who just goes with the flow. Chico is the guy who creates the flow for the Nuggets, the guy who could be an all-star this season.

"He is the tortoise and the hare," Nuggets assistant coach Chad Iske said of Lawson. "It seems like off the floor, you have to drag him along. He's so fast on the court all the time that he has to offset it by being so slow off the court. He offsets it by chillin', I guess."

In his first full season as the Nuggets' starting point guard, Lawson — er, Chico — is averaging 17.1 points, 6.3 assists and 1.9 steals entering tonight's home against the Utah Jazz?.

"He's cat quick," Miami Heat? forward LeBron James? said. "And he's very strong. Getting the starting point guard job has given him a lot more confidence. You have to get back in transition, because he can go. He's liable to go one-on-five against some of the best defenses.""