LaMelo Ball Gets Let Off The Hook
Defector • • sports
Key Points:
- The NBA fined LaMelo Ball a total of $60,000 for his "unnecessary and reckless contact" trip on Bam Adebayo and for cursing during a postgame interview, but chose not to suspend him for the next game.
- The trip, which injured Heat star Bam Adebayo and led to his absence for the remainder of the game, was retroactively ruled a flagrant 2 foul, but officials missed calling it during the game.
- Ball's action was seen as typical of his sometimes uncontrolled playing style, and although the trip looked worse in slow motion, the referees did not intervene during the fast-paced game.
- The Hornets won the play-in game in overtime by one point, with Ball scoring the game-winner, intensifying debate over whether he should have been suspended for the next game as compensation for the missed call.
- Heat coach Erik Spoelstra and others argued against punishing Ball in a subsequent game, citing that the referees' error should not result in retroactive disciplinary action affecting future games.
