It's been a while since Dwight Howard has had fun playing basketball. While in Orlando it seemed as if you couldn't take the smile off of Howard's face - leading many to make the assumption that he could never take anything serious enough.
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After a bad break-up with the franchise that drafted him, and a couple disgruntled years in LA and Houston, Howard decided to return home to Atlanta.
A decision that to this point in the season "Superman" is over the moon about. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution he's especially happy to play for Head Coach Mike Budenholzer and his staff.
“It’s the best,” Howard told AJC.com. “It’s the best. So grateful to be in this situation. They’ve done an amazing job, the training staff, the coaching staff. Bud has done an amazing job. We have a growing relationship that has been great so far."
Through the early part of the season, Howard leads the team in rebounding at 12.4 per game to go along with 15.2 points per game. Howard leads the NBA in double-doubles with seven, and has shown a renewed focus on the defensive end of the floor averaging 1.9 blocks. He credits the hot start to the accountability Coach Bud and his staff puts on his team.
“I think we’ve close to where we can be as a team,” Howard said. “One thing I can say is that this group is hungry. Coach is holding us accountable every single day to get better, continue to grow as a team. We want that. I think all of us want to win really bad.
The Hawks are off to a 7-2 start, and play the Heat in Miami on Wednesday.
