Kevin Pelton, SUPERSONICS.COM | November 21, 2006
Monday began with Seattle SuperSonics Head Coach
Bob Hill admitting after a one-game experiment with a small lineup featuring
Earl Watson that he had no choice but to start
Johan Petro despite a poor start to the season by the Sonics sophomore center. It ended with Petro earning the role of hero for his performance in the fourth quarter of the Sonics win over the New Jersey Nets.
Petro might never have had a chance to take his star turn had 
Nick Collison not picked up his fifth foul with 5:10 left in the game. Hill, who wanted length on the court to defend the Nets, turned to Petro, who had eight points and four rebounds in the first three quarters.
"Thank God I did because that's when he started to run and jump and block shots," Hill said Tuesday.
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"I thought what Johan did late with the blocked shots, the free throws and the jump shot was best."
Fernando Medina/NBAE/Getty
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With a little over two and a half minutes left, Petro came from behind in transition to block
Vince Carter's shot attempt with his left hand.
Ray Allen recovered and a score put the Sonics up six. On the team's next possession, Petro tracked down a loose ball in the corner and was fouled going to the basket, hitting both attempts. He completed the stretch by hitting a jumper with 1:15 left to put the Sonics up nine and put the game away.
Hill's final marks of 12 points and six rebounds both tied season highs, while his three blocks were a season high.
"We needed Johan to have a big game and I thought he did," said Hill. "But I thought what he did late with the blocked shots, the free throws and the jump shot was best. He really shored up our interior defense."
"It felt very good," said Petro. "We got the win at the end, so it felt very good."
Petro's role on the Sonics changed dramatically when 
Robert Swift was lost for the season in late October with a torn ACL. Just days before the Sonics opened their campaign, Petro went from backing up and splitting time with his fellow youngster to the Sonics only experienced 7-footer.
On Opening Night, Petro failed to defend Portland's pick-and-roll, going scoreless and committing four fouls in 16 minutes of action. After the game, the Sonics coaching staff jumped on Petro for his performance. Hill believes that was the cause of what happened next. As the Sonics traveled to Los Angeles for their second game of the season, Petro experienced an irregular heartbeat. He was forced to sit out the matchup with the Lakers in L.A. before returning two days later when the symptoms subsided.
"I think because when Robert Swift was injured, everyone said, 'Johan we need you,' I was worried about it," Petro explained. "I felt like I can't let my teammates down.
"The doctor said there can be a lot of causes of it (irregular heartbeat). Maybe it was a sign for me to just chill out."
While they wouldn't use the exact phrasing, that's what the coaching staff has been looking to get Petro to do. No one questions his effort on the floor, but Petro has a tendency to be too anxious, especially when it comes to helping on defense, and to play his best basketball when he doesn't think but just goes out and plays.
"When he plays basketball and he plays really well, he plays free and active," said Hill. "When you start forcing him to think a little bit or create a specific habit to be successful in the low post, then sometimes he forgets. And maybe that's because he's young. It's hard for me to get real, real frustrated with him because his heart is in the right place and he's trying."
"I think I was thinking before too much," adds Petro. "When I'm just kind of playing, reacting to what's happening, having fun - that's how I play."
That's how Petro played as a rookie, when he came in with no expectations placed on him. Considered likely to spend some time in the D-League, Petro instead started 41 games and averaged 5.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game at age 20.
"I was just happy to be playing, to be on the court," Petro recalled.
While Monday felt like a game that could be a turning point for Petro, Hill cautioned that the key for his young center is consistency, which means producing over a stretch of several games.
"It's just one game," said Hill. "I'm not trying to take anything away from what he did, but we need that from him every night on a consistent basis."
That will only be possible if Petro plays with the kind of joy and looseness he showed on Monday. Can he maintain that?
"I will," Petro concluded.
After missing both of his free-throw attempts Monday, 
Chris Wilcox has now hit just three of his last 16 tries at the charity stripe dating back to Nov. 15. It's a puzzling slump for a player who hit 73.2% of his free throws a year ago and had started the year shooting at a 75% clip.
"I think he took care of that this morning," Hill said confidently. Hill chatted with Wilcox about his form before the Sonics practice, noting that Wilcox has been lifting off his left foot but not his right, causing him to be unbalanced. That has resulted in Wilcox's release point coming down, meaning he's trying to hit line-drive free throws with little or no margin of error. When his form is correct, Wilcox flicks the ball toward the hoop with much more arc.
Hill asked his players to make 10 straight free throws at the end of practice and reported that Wilcox did so "right away."
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