Johan Petro

Others may do it more often, but when Johan Petro shoots, there's a very good chance he's going to score.

That's what the numbers from March bear out. Over the 14 games he played in, Johan averaged a staggering 57% from the field, hitting 25 of his 44 shot attempts.

His best outings: In a 102-95 victory over New Orleans, No. 27 scored 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting to go with 10 boards. Four days later, he scored 11 points on 4-of-6 shots against the Houston Rockets.

Johan battles Dwight Howard, March 28, 2010 (Getty Images).

A CLOSER LOOK
A more in-depth examination of Johan's stats reveals some other noteworthy trends.

In the seven games where he has played at least 20 minutes this season, Denver is 5-2. All but one of those games, coincidentally, were played in March.

Per 36 minutes this year, Johan presents some fairly strong evidence that he is an effective contributor.

He ranks third on Denver in shooting percentage (52.2%).

He ranks first in rebounds per game (11.8) and defensive rebounds (8.9).

He ranks second in blocks per game (1.2) behind Chris Andersen.

When you take into account more advanced statistics, something even more astounding is revealed: Johan is at least as efficient as Kenyon Martin, the player he is meant to replace, and in some ways, arguably more so.

In a comparison with Martin on Basketball Reference, Johan...

...has a higher True Shooting Percentage (54.9%) than Martin (48.4%).

...has a higher Total Rebounds Percentage (18.9%) than Martin (15.9%), which is also a team-high.

...has a higher Blocks Percentage (2.4)  than Martin (2.3).

...trails just behind Martin (13.5) in PER (11.0).

MARTIN OUT FOR GOOD?
A number of recent reports suggest that Johan may be starting at center for the remainder of Denver's season. As Kenyon Martin told Yahoo Sports:

“Realistically, I might not be able to play this year. …I might not be able to play the rest of the year...That’s what I’m realistic about, that I might not be able to. It’s still up in the air. But, I’m going to do all I can to make sure. I’m going to put my best foot forward and work hard every day to make sure I get back, but if it’s not meant to be, then it’s out of my control."

For Johan, this means continuing to take advantage of the opportunities he's given. As he told the French newspaper, Le Figaro:

"It feels good to be on the court and playing a bit."

RELATED STORIES
Martin unsure whether he’ll return (Yahoo Sports, March 29, 2010)
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=Ao854eFoeozQu4Ya04wzJ0cuPaB4?slug=mc-martinnuggets033010
La semaine des Frenchies (Le Figaro, March 30, 2010)
http://www.lefigaro.fr/autres-sports/2010/03/30/02021-20100330ARTSPO00491-la-semaine-des-frenchies.php