How LaMelo Ball Broke The Rulebook With “Legal” Travel | Hornets Heat Play In
Use my code for 10% off your next SeatGeek order: https://seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/BBALL2025 Sponsored by SeatGeek. Restrictions apply. Max $20 discount LaMelo Ball just pulled off a move so unconventional it exposed a massive hole in the NBA rulebook. During this high-stakes Eastern Conference Play-In thriller, Ball executed a “sliding” layup that helped the Charlotte Hornets eliminate the Miami Heat in a 127-126 overtime classic. While fans across the country are screaming for a travel, the current language of the law might actually make it legal. We dive deep into the film to analyze the gather step, the pivot foot mechanics, and why this specific “non-pivot slide” is a nightmare for NBA referees.
Beyond the footwork, the game was a whirlwind of controversy. We look at the razor-thin margin on a potential backcourt violation and a heated moment involving Bam Adebayo that has the league office considering a suspension. Was it a flagrant foul, or just an unfortunate collision that ended Miami’s season?
Highlights of the Breakdown:
The “Sliding” Loophole: Why the rulebook doesn’t technically forbid sliding the non-pivot foot.
Play-In Chaos: How Charlotte overcame a late deficit in regulation to force OT.
The Adebayo Injury: Analyzing the arm swipe and the potential for a league suspension for the next round.
Season on the Line: Why the Heat bench was furious over the non-call at midcourt.
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12 Comments
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Idky they are hollering about this Andrew Nembhard with Indiana has been doing this for 2 years
Check that: no Andrew does this but his foot is not sliding he plants before he finishes
This used to be a travel right?
Gather step and legal push offs are changing the game. Basketball used to be a vertical sport, now it’s lateral and horizontal.
They need to remove the delayed step. This whole thing is a travel. Basketball has been played for over 100 years. Basketball is not the NBA. People play basketball all over the world and taking a super slow second step and even stopping on the second step is pure nonsense and a down right disrespectful to the game. How are we still putting up with that? And even worse we praise it and teach it to kids learning to play nowadays. Coach Nick in your dat if you did one of Luka’s super slow layups you know you would be laughed at by the ref before calling a travel. Slowing down is possible but damn near stopping is just rudicoulous. Ask yourself for what? To score a couple more layups a game for the best scorers. We don’t need even more inflated scoring numbers, as there is nore than enough scoring. The NBA proclaims to be the best league in the world and it is. How about we let the best players in the world play some real basketball like I don’t think this is a particularly exciting or attention grabbing play that will affect the bottom line of these billion dollar franchises.
Not a travel but should be
how about them trailblazers coach
Bare knuckle is not for a guy like Ortiz….I have no idea who he's facing in July…but that guy's gonna beat a helluva beating down on him
You can explain until you are blue in the face why, according to current rules, that isn’t a travel, but the reaction is consistent. What people want is not what the current rules say. It looks ugly, it looks awkward, and it isn’t basketball. The fans are speaking, consistently and loudly, that they don’t like the aesthetic of this NBA product.
Lamelo got kicked in the head by #7 right as he tripped bam and the whole world is blind
The rules are silly. Dragging your foot isn’t illegal movement. Shimmying on the floor isn’t illegal movement. Both of these movements are meant to help keep balance after ending the dribble.
Spirit, Frontier, American, United, & Southwest ✈️ should hold a meeting to discuss this.