Sports media personality Jim Rome weighs in on the Bam Adebayo incident with LaMelo Ball
The biggest story from the Miami Heat's loss to the Charlotte Hornets in Tuesday's Play-In Tournament game was LaMelo Ball.
He injured Heat star Bam Adebayo in the second quarter on a play that many would consider dirty. While on the ground, Ball grabbed Adebayo by the leg. It caused Adebayo to land hard on his lower back. He did not return.
Longtime sports media personality Jim Rose recently chimed in on the play.
"What the hell was LaMelo doing," Rome said. "What the hell is the ref show doing? They completely missed that. There was no foul call on that play. No flagrant, no nothing. I mean, at least see it happen and call a foul."
The Heat had the same reaction, mainly coach Erik Spoelstra and former Miami captain Udonis Haslem. Both felt some of the blame should have been placed on the referees.
Rome pointed out how the officials not blowing the whistle led to Ball avoiding a potential ejection. A foul call would have given time for a discussion but play just continued. The outcome may have played out differently had the Heat and Hornets been without two of their top players.
Instead, Adebayo was sidelined while Ball scored 30 points and was key down the stretch in the win.
"If you don't call a foul, you can't review it," Rome said. "And if you can't review it, there is no ejection. You can't do anything. There was no call on the play. And the only reason is, `Damn, that is the ref show going ref show' or they didn't see it. My point is how could you not see it. Again, that was a weird dirty play that knocked the Heat's best player out of the game. You think maybe Miami would have liked to have Bam on the floor playing defense on that final play? You think Miami would have liked to have their best player available in the second half of a season-deciding game?"
The NBA still may take action against Ball, but it's too late for the Heat. They are preparing for Thursday exit interviews while the Hornets advanced to the next round.
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Shandel Richardson is the publisher of HeatRoundtable. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com