Charles Barkley made major waves around these parts earlier this season when he declared that Dirk Nowitzki’s days as a dependable go-to guy were done.

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Charles Barkley says Lamar Odom didn't earn his money with the Mavs and reiterates that Father Time will beat Dirk Nowitzki Listen

Nowitzki snapped out of the worst slump since his rookie season soon after Barkley’s claim that Father Time had caught up with the face of the Mavs’ franchise. But Barkley was back on ESPNDallas 103.3’s “Galloway & Co” Wednesday, and he definitely isn’t backing off his pot-stirring opinion about Dirk.

“Bro, I’m never wrong on Father Time,” said Barkley, whom Nowitzki recently bumped to No. 20 on the all-time scoring list. “I said the same thing about Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan. They can have spurts because they’re great players. You can have spurts, but you can’t do it consistently. I mean, Father Time is undefeated.

"I tell people there ain’t but two things undefeated: Father Time and what got Bobby Petrino in trouble."

Not sure what Harley Davidsons have to do with this discussion, but let's try to steer it back on the road, so to speak.

Nowitkzi’s numbers (21.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, .456 shooting percentage) are his lowest since his second season in the NBA. There are extenuating circumstances, of course.

Dirk came back from the lockout in terrible shape by his standards, leading to the decision to give him a week to go through a personal training camp early in the season. And the lockout-compressed schedule has been tough on his 33-year-old legs, as he’s readily admitted over and over again.

But Barkley isn’t buying the theory -- often heard coming from Mark Cuban’s stairstepper -- that Nowitzki will be back to normal with a normal schedule next season.

“Father Time is going to win, man,” Barkley said. “You talk about next year? He’s just going to be a year older next year.”