Rachel Nichols Assigns Blame After Kyrie Irving Injury News

From Jan. 16 to March 2, Irving was averaging 38.7 minutes per game, just ahead of Philadelphia 76ers star Tyrese Maxey (38.5). 

After Cato pointed that out, Fox Sports personality Rachel Nichols had a strong reaction. 

"Kyrie tearing his ACL wasn’t inevitable, but it wasn’t unimaginable either. Trading away a generational talent in his 20s for a 31-year-old with a significant injury history, then driving your 32-year-old star into the ground despite his own injury history is…extremely confusing," Nichols wrote. 

Fans also raised eyebrows at Irving's high usage. 

"Malpractice. Sell the team. Fire Kidd and Nico immediately," one fan wrote. 

"You don't say. Mavs are running a master class on his to destroy a franchise in every facet. No free agent should ever come here under this regime. This franchise is doomed," another said. 

"Jason Kidd/Nico malpractice…trading Luka is bad enough. Not finding another creator at the deadline is horrific business. These two don’t know what they’re doing," wrote another. 

After the Doncic trade, it was reported that one reason for the move was because of his conditioning which led to injury concerns. 

However, the trade brought Anthony Davis to Dallas, and the 31-year-old center has dealt with multiple injuries throughout his career. 

On top of all that, Irving -- who turns 33 years old on March 23 -- was playing the most minutes in the league over the past six weeks. 

It has not been a good run lately for the Mavericks, who are just nine months removed from an NBA Finals appearance.