Dwight Howard has tuned out of the hype wagon driven by Golden State Warriors‘ new star Kevin Durant.
The Atlanta Hawks‘ new star center claims he hasn't paid attention to who is in their roster.
“Well, to be honest with you, I haven't even looked at Golden State,” Howard said in an interview on SiriusXM NBA Radio.
“That's the honest-to-God truth. I'm happy for K.D. I know a lot of people have been killing him for leaving and going to Golden State, but hey man, he looks happy out there. I did have a chance to, I went to the bowling alley and I saw the first half of their game against the Clippers, and he looks happy. He's in a great situation for himself. But I haven't really had a chance to really sit down, I don't really know who's on their team. I just glanced on the game for a couple minutes.”
As bad as this seems coming from an NBA world that is getting more and more analytical every season, it makes sense as Howard's focus should be narrowed down to his own performance and getting to know his new teammates and building chemistry with them.
Besides, the Hawks will only play the Warriors twice this year and will have a month into their season until their first meeting in Nov. 28 — by that time, it's likely the coaching staff will have a detailed breakdown of the roster.
Howard admitted he'd love to face Durant during next year's NBA Finals, but it's likely that the Hawks have some climbing up to do in the Eastern Conference ranks before that can happen.
“I saw the expressions on K.D.'s face of how happy he was,” Howard said. “I'm happy for him. They're going to be a really good team. Hopefully, it would be great to be playing 'em in The Finals. That'd be fun. ‘Cause I personally, they've beaten the teams I've been on the last couple years, and I want to beat those guys really bad.”