The NBA announced (via Twitter) that Hornets guard LaMelo Ball has been assessed a flagrant foul 2 and fined $35K for “making unnecessary and reckless contact” with Heat center Bam Adebayo during Tuesday’s play-in game. Ball also received a $25K fine for “using profane language during a live post-game television interview.”
The action means Ball won’t be suspended for Friday’s game at Orlando, which will determine whether Charlotte can advance to the playoffs as the No. 8 seed.
The play occurred in the first half when Ball had his shot blocked by Miami’s Simone Fontecchio. Ball fell to the court and grabbed Adebayo’s foot, bringing him to the floor as he grabbed the rebound and passed the ball to Fontecchio (video link via NBA.com).
Ball would have been ejected if the officials had whistled a flagrant 2 when the play happened, but no call was made at the time. He wound up hitting a game-winning layup in the closing seconds of overtime to end the Heat’s season.
Miami coach Erik Spoelstra called it a “dangerous play” in his post-game session with the media and said Ball should have been “thrown out of the game” for his actions. “There’s no place in the game for that,” Spoelstra added.
After a hard landing, Adebayo limped to the locker room and was ruled out in the second half due to a lower back injury. He was only available for 11:26, finishing with six points and three rebounds.
Ball expressed regret after the game, according to Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer (subscription required).
“I apologize on that one,” he said. “I got hit in the head, didn’t know where I was. But I’m going to check on (Adebayo) and see if he is OK and everything.”
bullcrap… IT’S THE SECOND TIME HE DID IT!!!
NBA just admitted the refs cost the Heat their season too.. nice
So, we’ve determined that the cost of depriving the opposing team of their best player is $35K…
Can the Heat protest the game?
He should be suspended. Just awful call. You only have to see the video once. Just nuts.
Agree. Dirty play and cost the Heat the game.
Can’t believe the Sixers won. Nobody for Magic showed up except Bane. Unreal man. I said Sixers were dangerous. But I meant with Embiid.
Maaaannn Celtics better be ready.
Magic lockerroom vibes are apparently rancid right now.
I don’t think I’d judge how good Philly looked against Orlando. The Magic looked like they wanted to do pretty much anything but play basketball last night.
And many had magic as contenders. I knew they weren’t gonna scare anyone.
“I apologize on that one,” he said. “I got hit in the head, didn’t know where I was. But I’m going to check on (Adebayo) and see if he is OK and everything.”
And you looked right at Adebayo, with your hand and pulled his foot out from under him?
I would love to give folks the benefit of the doubt in certain situations. But I don’t think this is one of those situations.
It was the SECOND TIME he did it… he did the same thing earlier in the season
Ok dude. We get it. You don’t have to keep posting the same thing.
thats the SECOND TIME he posted it. he did the same thing earlier in the day.
:)
The NBA should be disgusted in itself…
Miami should protest the result and if they can the penalty…
This is the right call for no suspension. Should he have been ejected yesterday? Maybe but it was too late. So many dirty plays doesn’t get a player suspended and we don’t know the severity of Bam’s injury.
And a lot of times there’s clearer intent, whether via an unnatural motion, a pre-planned move, more time for the player to think/react, etc. Here, you had a guy who had just fallen try to pull his hand in less than a second later. If anyone has played the game of basketball, what he didn’t isn’t THAT unnatural in the heat of the moment. It just looks a lot worse to our brains in slow-mo.
Reckless? Sure. And I can’t say for certain it wasn’t intentional. But I agree that it’s not suspension-worthy by the NBA’s generally weak standards. Also tough to put it in the refs when the play wasn’t reviewable, especially when so many complain about flopping ruining the game.
And I say all of this as someone who loathes LaMelo as a person. As much as I’m happy for Kon and some of the other players on the roster as well as Hornets fans, I’d love to see him and Bridges get smoked out of the playoffs.
THIS… WAS…THE…SECOND..TIME…BALL… TRIPPED.. BAM… IN… THE.. EXACT…SAME..WAY
If you’ve seen how this guy drives IRL, he has zero spatial awareness, and no regard for anyone’s safety.
Ball says: “I got hit in the head, didn’t know where I was”.
So he should be in concussion protocol and highly unlikely to be available for the game against the Magic. Seems he was really..”out of it”..for a minute.
“Forgetting where you are (disorientation) after a concussion indicates a moderate to severe concussion”.
“Players with a concussion should sit out of basketball for a minimum of 7–10 days for mild cases, while severe or youth cases often require 3–4 weeks or longer”.
“The NBA concussion protocol requires immediate removal of any player suspected of having a head injury for evaluation in a quiet environment. If diagnosed, a player must rest for at least 48 hours, followed by a gradual, symptom-free, multi-stage return-to-participation exertion process, ultimately requiring clearance by a team physician and consultation with the NBA Concussion Program Director”.
A suspension would have been hard to justify with the NBA’s recent history on such matters. Fouls and fines can vary, but preventing players from playing in games has to be done pursuant to consistently applied standards. Face it, Silver & Co. aren’t really up to that. Two years ago, in the playoffs, Embid did a worse takedown on Mitch, and while it was called a flagrant 1, there was no ejection or suspension. That’s the most spot on example, but there are others as well.
pos – The play-in… “I didn’t know where I was”… You weren’t on Epstein’s Island – pos
He is lying. He reached over and grabbed Bam’s ankle. I couldn’t believe that he wasn’t thrown out of the game. This is so dangerous he could have ended this man’s career.