LaMelo trip under review

The National Basketball Association reviewed LaMelo Ball’s trip of Bam Adebayo, then fined Ball $35,000 and upgraded the missed call to a Flagrant Foul 2 without suspending him. (nba.com) (sports.yahoo.com) The play happened in the second quarter of Charlotte’s SoFi Play-In game against Miami on Tuesday, April 14, when Ball fell after a drive and reached for Adebayo’s left leg as Adebayo ran past him. Adebayo crashed onto his back, left the game, and Miami later ruled him out with a lower-back injury in a 127-126 overtime loss. (apnews.com) (nbcmiami.com) Game officials did not call a foul on the floor, and Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said after the game that Ball should have been ejected. Yahoo Sports reported Wednesday night that the league had opened a review after Spoelstra’s request for a replay review during the game did not produce one. (sports.yahoo.com) (nbcmiami.com) Under the National Basketball Association rulebook, referees can use replay to decide whether a called foul should be upgraded to a flagrant foul. A Flagrant Foul Penalty 2 is defined as unnecessary and excessive contact and carries an automatic ejection. (official.nba.com 1) (official.nba.com 2) That framework is the center of this case because no foul was called on the play, so there was no in-game flagrant review to trigger. The league’s postgame ruling said the contact merited a Flagrant Foul 2, but that decision came after Miami had already finished its season. (sports.yahoo.com) (nba.com) Ball said after the game that he apologized to Adebayo and did not intend to hurt him. The league also fined Ball another $25,000 for profanity during his postgame interview, bringing his total discipline from Tuesday night to $60,000. (sports.yahoo.com 1) (sports.yahoo.com 2) Miami’s side has been direct about the stakes. Spoelstra called the sequence “dangerous,” and Adebayo’s exit removed the Heat’s starting center and captain from an elimination game that went to overtime. (sports.yahoo.com) (usatoday.com) Charlotte kept Ball available for its next play-in game because the league stopped at a fine and a retroactive flagrant assessment instead of a suspension. The case leaves the National Basketball Association with a clear record that the play should have drawn an ejection, even though that call never came when the game was still live. (sports.yahoo.com) (apnews.com)