LaMelo Ball’s ankle grab on Bam Adebayo, was it a “Dirty Play”???: Some say, Ball was simply too much, whether he was shooting in the clutch or simply clutching an ankle

Heat lose to Hornets without Bam Adebayo after potentially dirty LaMelo Ball play
from Sean Keane, with YardBarker.com/www.yardbarker.com

CLICK HERE to view the video, and from the video, the Ankle-Grab/Ankle-Clutch/Cobra-Kai/Lower-Leg and Ankle-Swoop, does appear/look to be Totally Intentional…Look at it close, and you can see LaMelo Ball grabbing Bam Adebayo’s ankle…He grabs the ankle, and down goes Adebayo…..WILD STUFF….Sean Keane has his take on the play, down at the bottom/end of this post….

The Miami Heat already had their hands full with the Charlotte Hornets in the 9-10 play-in game. Their task got tougher when they lost their best player to a highly questionable play.

Bam Adebayo left with a back injury early in the second quarter after Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball appeared to trip him. The Miami big man never returned in the Heat’s do-or-die game, forcing them to lean heavily on Kel’el Ware and sixth man Jaime Jaquez, Jr. in the 127-126 OT loss.

LaMelo Ball’s play may not have been intentional
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra complained at length about the non-call, but the officials didn’t give Ball a common foul, much less a flagrant foul or a technical. The bang-bang play was a difficult call. Ball had just fallen to the floor after Simone Fontecchio blocked his shot, and Ball may not have realized Adebayo’s ankle was in his way as he pulled his left arm back to his body.

The Heat would argue that Ball knew exactly what he was doing and endangered Adebayo with his Cobra Kai-style arm sweep, sending him to the locker room. It looked worse in slow-motion, as Ball appeared to look right at Adebayo before yanking his ankle. No whistle blew, so the play continued with a Pelle Larsson layup and a dunk from Ball on the other end.

The teams played on and Ware stepped up, blocking four shots and reaching double-digit rebounds early in the third quarter. Andrew Wiggins stepped as a scorer, putting up 27 points and Davion Mitchell finished with 28, both sinking four three-pointers each.

Ankle grabs have led to playoff chaos before
It’s not totally uncommon to see a frontcourt player get his ankle grabbed, especially when he has a chance to start a fast break. Three years ago, Domantas Sabonis grabbed Draymond Green’s ankle and was called for a flagrant foul. Green responded by stomping on Sabonis’ chest, and he got suspended for a game.

Could Ball have been rattled? He shot 2-of-16 from deep for the game, and 1-of-13 after Adebayo left. In overtime, Ball fouled Tyler Herro on a three-point attempt with 11 seconds left, but bounced back with a go-ahead layup.

Still, Adebayo’s absence allowed the Hornets to play a super-small lineup during their late comeback, playing Grant Williams at center and surrounding him with shooters. The Heat may have simply worn down, with four players playing over 40 minutes. Jaquez played 41 off the bench, and he was a step slow on Ball’s final basket.

The Heat fought hard without Adebayo. But Ball was simply too much, whether he was shooting in the clutch or simply clutching an ankle.