Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra believes Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball should’ve been punished for a play that knocked out center Bam Adebayo during the team’s play-in loss on Tuesday night.
Adebayo exited with a back injury early in the second quarter of Miami’s 127-126 overtime loss after Ball appeared to trip him while he was grabbing a blocked shot. Ball grasped Adebayo’s left ankle as he tried to get back on his feet, contributing to the center’s fall.
The play may have been an accident, but Spoelstra still called it “dangerous” during his postgame news conference.
Erik Spoelstra reacts to play that left Bam Adebayo injured
“I don’t think it’s cute. I don’t think it’s funny. I think it’s a stupid play,” the coach said (h/t Mike Cugno of WFOR-TV in Miami). “It’s a dangerous play. …He should be penalized for that. I don’t think that belongs in the game, tripping guys. He should’ve been thrown out of the game for that.”