The NBA Play-In Tournament got off to an explosive start this week, with the Miami Heat vs. Charlotte Hornets and Portland Trail Blazers vs. Phoenix Suns games going down to the wire in thrilling fashion. The Heat and Hornets got it all kickstarted, with LaMelo Ball‘s late basket being the deciding factor.
But the conversation around that game revolves more around a controversial play Ball made. Early in the game, Ball tripped up Bam Adebayo on a play where the Heat star fell backwards, resulting in an injury that kept him out of the rest of the game. Needless to say, Miami could have really used Adebayo’s help, and may have ended up winning that game if he was available.
LaMelo Ball is adamant that he didn’t intentionally injure Bam Adebayo, but the Miami Heat player isn’t sure about that
The Hornets guard tried to defend himself when questioned about the play after the game, claiming that he got hit in the head and wasn’t aware of what was happening. He then said he was “sorry” for Adebayo getting injured, and that he would “check on him”. Apparently, Ball is yet to check on Adebayo at all.
Adebayo made a public appearance at an end-of-season press conference for the Heat on Thursday. He was spotted walking gingerly, then spoke about the play where he got injured. He revealed that he hasn’t spoken to Ball yet; so LaMelo hasn’t reached out to him, and it’s unclear if he even will.
Like his head coach, Erik Spoelstra, Adebayo believes the play in question should have been able to be reviewed. If it was, Ball very well might have been ejected from the game.
Adebayo didn’t want to speculate on if LaMelo intentionally injured him, saying that only the Hornets player can say if that was the case. Ball is adamant that it wasn’t intentional.
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