Kevin Pelton, SUPERSONICS.COM | February 12, 2007
The dramatic turnaround for the Seattle SuperSonics over the weekend, from a 21-point loss to the Sacramento Kings at KeyArena to an 11-point win over the same Kings squad a night later in Sacramento, was matched by
Johan Petro's improvement between the two games. Petro followed up a three-point, three-rebound effort most notable for a pair of bad passes for turnovers with one of his best games of the season - 12 points and nine rebounds in 18 minutes.
"I thought Johan in 18 minutes last night was the best he ever played as a Sonics player," 
Bob Hill said after the Sonics practiced on Monday.
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"I told them, 'Look, from now on I'm going to play tomorrow's game like it's my first game in the NBA. I'm just going to let it go.' "
Terrence Vaccaro/NBAE/Getty
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"I told the coaches before the game, the game before that [Saturday], I sucked," Petro said. "I realized it, so that's a good thing. I told them, 'Look, from now on I'm going to play tomorrow's game like it's my first game in the NBA. I'm just going to let it go.' That's what I did. That's what I'm going to do from now on. I'm just going to be happy and enjoy what I'm doing, because I could be like
Mo (Sene) in the D-League. Now I'm here and enjoying the NBA life."
Petro's last two games have been typical of a sophomore season marked by inconsistency. Petro had a strong stretch in December and early January where he scored in double-figures seven times in 13 games, shooting 64.7% from the field during the stretch. But that was followed by a difficult January; in his next 13 games, Petro reached double-figures only twice.
It's telling that when Petro was conducting an interview, Hill stopped by on his way off the practice court to his office to deliver a message to both player and reporter: "The key to good players in the NBA is a level of consistency. I'll leave you with that."
Inconsistency is a big reason why Petro's campaign has been frustrating at times for fans, the coaching staff and Petro himself. From a statistical perspective, Petro has taken a step forward from his promising rookie year. His 53.5% shooting tops the Sonics and is in the NBA's top 25. In almost the same minutes per game, Petro has improved his scoring average from 5.2 points per game to 6.5. His much-maligned rebounding is essentially the same as in his rookie season (4.3 rebounds per game, down from 4.4) and Petro has improved his assist-to-turnover ratio.
"Like I said to Bob like two days ago, my numbers got better somewhere; somewhere they stayed the same," Petro said. "I feel like this season (hasn't been) good like last year. I don't know why. I think I put too much pressure on myself because of last year and what we did. I came this year to really bring something else."
Petro raised the expectations for this season with a surprising year as a rookie. Petro came to camp an afterthought, considered likely to play sparingly and spend some time in the D-League - as Sene has this season. Instead, Petro started on Opening Night and was returned to the starting lineup when Hill took over as head coach in January, starting 41 of his 68 games and providing surprisingly competent play given his inexperience.
"When I first got here, people tried to send me to the D-League, and I kind of took it personally like I wasn't good enough to stay here," he said. "That wasn't my point. I didn't come to Seattle to go back to I don't know where."
Petro had a partner as he went through the process of adjusting to life as a regular player in the NBA. Fellow center 
Robert Swift was going through the same process, and the two quickly grew tight. As a result, the torn ACL that wiped out Swift's season was a blow for Petro as well.
"He and 
Mickaël (Gelabale) were in my office the other day," Hill said. "We were just having a general conversation about culture and America and other stuff. I looked at Johan and asked him, 'How much do you miss Robert?' He started laughing and shaking his head. He said, 'I miss him so much I can't tell you.' I was afraid of that, because really last year they were a two-headed center. They counted on one another."
"I miss Robert," confirmed Petro. "We were in the same situation, so I knew what he was feeling when he had a bad game or whatever. Right now, I'm kind of lonely."
Swift also played an important role in Petro's development on the court. When one of the two had a bad night while playing together, the other could pick up the extra minutes. With Swift sidelined and Sene spending most of the last month and a half in the NBADL, Petro has been left as the only 7-footer on the Sonics roster. That has magnified his mistakes and off nights.
And there have been mistakes. Petro's game mirrors his personality - energetic and up-tempo. At best, that makes him an athletic threat few teams can match in the post. At worst, that means fastball passes in traffic when changeups would be more appropriate, over-helping on defense that leaves Petro out of position and forced shots. In general, most of Petro's mistakes can be summed up by his playing the game too fast instead of slowing down, taking his time and reading the situation.
"That's hard because I'm an energetic guy," explained Petro. "When I'm on the court, I have to bring energy. Sometimes, it will be too much energy. I'll try to help everybody when I don't have to and my guy will get an easy basket. I just have to slow down. I don't know how to do it; I don't know how to slow down. I just have to figure out a way to slow it down.
"I probably tried to do everything. That's not really my job. The only thing I have to realize and be aware of is help my teammates, block shots, grab rebounds, run the court and just make baskets."
Hill may get frustrated at times with Petro's play, but he hasn't gotten discouraged.
"If you're going to draft 7-footers, you better be ready to be patient in development," Hill concluded, "because it will pay dividends."
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