The Dallas Mavericks have had a disastrous time in the last 30 days, suffering injuries to Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving. Sports reporter Rachel Nichols pins the blame on the franchise for managing the star duo.
Nichols appeared on an episode of Sports Illustrated's Open Floor Show on Friday. She argued that both injuries are the Mavericks' fault.
“When you have something like an ACL injury, it’s not an overuse injury, I want to make that clear. I’m not saying he played so many minutes that he wore himself down and it became an overuse injury. But I know for a fact that when your body is tired everything is different,” Nichols said at the 1:53 mark.
“You cannot tell me that Kyrie Irving, who is a smaller guard, at his age on the other side of 30, with a significant injury history, should have been playing the most minutes in the entire league for the last 6 weeks straight.”
Rachel Nichols critical of Mavericks handling Anthony Davis
Dallas Mavericks forward Anthony Davis laughs during a timeout against the Charlotte Hornets during the first half at American Airlines Center.
Rachel Nichols also points to why she blames the Mavericks for Anthony Davis’ injury.
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“The dirty little secret is that he probably should not have comeback from the previous injury that he had when he was out with the Lakers as quickly as he did. And he was out on the court at a time when he probably shouldn’t have been because he was trying to prove the trade right,” she said at the 3:08 mark.
“He was trying to help Nico, not out of the goodness of his heart but just because if you were on the other end of that trade and everyone was saying man Dallas got hosed, well you’re the one who they’re saying isn’t good enough.”
Davis closes in on returning from the injury he suffered in February, while Irving is out with a torn ACL. This presents obstacles for the Mavericks to overcome, with a playoff spot still available.
Dallas currently has a 32-31 record on the season, holding the 10th spot in the Western Conference standings. They are one game behind the Sacramento Kings and 1.5 games behind the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Mavericks prepare for their upcoming matchup on Friday night. They host the Memphis Grizzlies at 7:30 p.m. ET.