April 17, 2009

Valued Added

With Johan heading to the postseason for the first time in his career, he's hoping he can play some valuable minutes once the playoffs commence.

Denver, the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, will host the seventh-seeded New Orleans Hornets on Sunday.

Johan played in two games against New Orleans this season, and in his second -- played on March 25 -- he logged some of his most noteworthy minutes of the year, picking up five points, six rebounds and a blocked shot in a mere 14:52.

A QUIET APRIL
For the most part, No. 27 didn't find his way into action too many times in the final weeks of the regular season.

Still, when he does play, Johan makes an impact, particularly on the glass. Consider the following:

  • Apr. 4 v. LAC: 15:56 minutes played, seven points, five rebounds
  • Apr. 5 v. MIN: 03:28 minutes played, two rebounds
  • Apr. 15 v. POR: 05:28 minutes played, three rebounds

Given that New Orleans' Tyson Chandler poses a serious rebounding challenge on the glass, it's likely that Johan will find his way into some postseason action in the coming days.

Should that be the case, the Denver Post's Chris Dempsey would likely welcome it. As he wrote:

Three Denver players — Anthony Carter, Dahntay Jones and Chris Andersen — have NBA minimum contracts. Two others — Renaldo Balkman and Johan Petro — have relatively inexpensive deals. And yet these players are anything but minimal when it comes to their importance and impact on the court...The Nuggets are 9-1 when Balkman starts, and Petro has played better as the season progresses.

RELATED STORIES
Nuggets getting plenty of bang for few bucks (Denver Post, Apr. 13, 2009)
http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_12129708