Charles Barkley Subtly Links Anthony Davis’ Injuries to Nico Harrison’s Dismissal: “Already Got My Boy Fired”

Charles Barkley felt a 'healthy' Anthony Davis would elevate the Dallas Mavericks to be a possible championship-contender.

Charles Barkley Subtly Links Anthony Davis’ Injuries to Nico Harrison’s Dismissal: “Already Got My Boy Fired”

Charles Barkley, Nico Harrison, and Anthony Davis (Image via FirstSportz)

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Charles Barkley and his Inside the NBA Crew are back after a hiatus that spanned more than a month. This time, as they were covering the Christmas Games, they were watching Anthony Davis and the Dallas Mavericks take on the Golden State Warriors.

The franchise, which had to go through all the negativity surrounding former GM Nico Harrison, was finally starting to come together and put together an over .500 record in the month of December. The keys to that resurgence have been rookie Cooper Flagg, who has taken on a bigger offensive burden, and Davis, who has continued to prove that, when healthy, he is one of the better big men in the league.

Mavericks fans and the organization might be praying every day for the ‘healthy’ tag to stick to their star forward. He has not played in enough games ever since joining the franchise via the blockbuster trade that shook the sports world in February.

Come on, man, this is bad. Already got my boy fired. Love you, Nico. Merry Christmas.

Charles Barkley remarked

This was the Hall of Famer’s reaction when Davis exited the game in the second-quarter with a groin spasm. It seems Charles Barkley was linking the NBA champion forward’s injuries to Nico Harrison’s dismissal.

It may be that he believes that had the 10-time All-Star stayed healthy, the Mavericks might not have lost that many games this season. That eventually led to Harrison being shown the door.

Charles Barkley had once claimed a healthy Anthony Davis should lead Mavs to West Finals

Now with Anthony Davis injured again, it casts a doubt on the Dallas Mavericks’ ability to continue their resurgence. After all, Charles Barkley had labeled them as Western Conference Finalists.

If Anthony Davis is healthy, if he plays 65–70 games, and Kyrie (Irving) comes back at the beginning of the year, in my opinion, they are the second-best team in the Western Conference.

Charles Barkley said on Oct. 23rd

The “Round Mound of Rebound” believed that a healthy 32-year-old Davis, when combined with the rest of the roster, was good enough to beat the rest of the teams in the extremely competitive Western Conference.

However, that has not been the case, and the franchise is eight games away from posting a .500 season. If they are to help Charles Barkley perform a victory lap in front of his Inside the NBA colleagues over his prediction, the Mavs have to play a lot better.

Anthony Davis has missed 62.5% of his games since joining Mavs

When the Dallas Mavericks traded for Anthony Davis, many wondered what Nico Harrison was thinking, as the Chicago native’s health concerns were already well-documented.

Cooper Flagg and Anthony Davis' chemistry was blossoming
Cooper Flagg and Davis’ chemistry was blossoming (Image via Mavs Film Room/X)

He felt it was better than Luka Doncic‘s conditioning woes, and that belief may have cost him his job. It so happens that the former No.1 overall pick has been anything but healthy.

Since joining the franchise in February this year, Davis has been eligible to play 64 games, including their 10-point loss to the Golden State Warriors earlier. Out of those games, he has played in only 24 of them. That means the Mavs have not benefitted from the superstar’s presence 62.5% of the time. Now, after he injured his groin, that number might go up.

The problem for the franchise is that Davis and rookie Cooper Flagg’s chemistry was building in these past few games, which would have been a great asset whenever Kyrie Irving returned.

Now, that has been disrupted again, and the team has to wait until that development can resume. Only then can they put together some performances that could match what Barkley predicted.

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