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The LaMelo Ball Experience was on full display as Hornets somehow survive play-in thriller vs. Heat

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LaMelo Ball is probably the single most uniquely gifted and frustrating player in the NBA, and on Tuesday night he gave us the full experience in what might go down as the wildest game you see this entire postseason. 

First, the essentials: The Charlotte Hornets somehow beat the Miami Heat, 127-126, in overtime to win the East’s No. 9 vs. No. 10 play-in game. The Heat were eliminated. The Hornets will play either the Magic or the 76ers in a do-or-die game for the East’s No. 8 seed on Friday. 

Now, back to Ball, who literally went from losing the game for the Hornets to winning it for them in a span of about 12 seconds. First, after Tyler Herro sunk a corner 3 that left Charlotte clinging to a two-point lead, Ball wasn’t even able to get the ball across half court before coughing it up with a telegraphed, desperately weak pass intended for Sion James that wound up in the hands of Pelle Larsson with 16 seconds to play. Then, just for good measure, he turned around and fouled Herro on a 3-point attempt on the other end. 

Herro sunk all three free throws, and just like that, the Hornets went from having the game in hand to needing a game-winning bucket to survive. Which, of course, Ball promptly delivered. 

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Look at Ball’s box score and it’s a wonderful mess of huge numbers: 30 points on 31 shots, 10 assists, 2 of 16 from 3 in 40 minutes. If you’re a Ball hater, he gave you plenty of material for your morning water-cooler rant — firing up one-legged 3s like he’s in the driveway and missing just about every one of them, getting targeted on ball and losing his man off ball on defense. 

And of course, with the game on the line, he decided to get fancy with his handle instead of taking the small angle he had won the first time he turned Mitchell and getting the damn thing across half court. Ball isn’t programmed to do anything the simple way. Going between the legs a second time, and in doing so turning directly back into the teeth of an incoming trap, is the downside of a mix-tape maniac having his hand on the switch of your season. 

That said, some freelancing fumbles are just part of the deal with Ball. It’s baked into his wild equation, which has been an overwhelmingly positive one for the Hornets all season. With Ball on the floor this year, Charlotte outscored opponents by just under 10 points per 100 possessions, per Cleaning the Glass, with an offense in the 97th percentile. With Ball off the court, the Hornets fell to a neutral team with a 36th percentile offense. 

Same deal on Tuesday. With Ball on the floor, the Hornets outscored the Heat by 15 points. With him off, the Heat outscored the Hornets by 14. That’s not a coincidence. Ball’s mania isn’t all for show. Keeping tabs on him is a nightmare. He puts constant pressure on a defense and can wiggle his way to any spot on the floor given enough time to fool around. He pushes pace. He’ll shoot from anywhere. 

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This is a guy who will toss up a one-legged step back from 30 feet when he’s bricked his last seven shots, and he’ll do it confidently. A guy who’ll float a 40-foot alley-oop pass in a two-point do-or-die game with under five minutes to play, and stick it. 

Playing basketball against LaMelo Ball is like trying to fight a guy who doesn’t care if he dies. Like trying to play poker against the dude who goes all in every other hand. He might have the aces. He might have rags. You can’t feel comfortable sitting across from that kind of cowboy.

That’s the beauty of Ball. It doesn’t matter if it’s the second night of a back to back in January or a one-and-done play-in game in April — he’s playing with the pedal pegged. For much of this game, Miles Bridges was the only other Hornet generating any kind of juice. Kon Knueppel couldn’t make a thing. Brandon Miller was out for much of the first half in foul trouble. Ball had to shoot his way through a lot of his own misses, but he kept going. And when it mattered most, he delivered in a fashion that speaks to the substance in his style. 

“That shows growth,” Bridges said of Ball’s decision to turn the corner and get downhill on the game-winning shot. “Before, Melo would have shot a step-back 3 to try to win the game. But he has a different sense of urgency. And he’s a winning player. He always gets talked about as just a player who wants highlights and all this. But he truly wants to win, and I feel like it’s on full display right now.”

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Giants 4-round mock draft after blockbuster Dexter Lawrence trade with Bengals

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Giants 4-round mock draft after blockbuster Dexter Lawrence trade with Bengals originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

With just days to go before the 2026 NFL Draft, the New York Giantspulled off a blockbuster trade with the Cincinnati Bengals that jettisoned star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence.

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The deal saw the Giants send Lawrence to the Bengals for the No. 10 overall pick, which was no doubt more than anyone was expecting them to get. Now, Big Blue stands armed with two first-round picks, with the other coming at No. 5 overall.

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With needs on both sides of the ball, the Giants can now take care of the offense and defense with blue-chip prospects inside the top 10 of the draft later this week.

And that’s exactly what we have them doing in our new mock draft in the wake of the Lawrence trade with the Bengals.

Giants 4-round mock draft after Lawrence trade

Sonny Styles

Sonny Styles

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Round 1, Pick 5: LB Sonny Styles, Ohio State

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ESPN’s Jordan Raanan mentioned Styles as one of three players the Giants like with the No. 5 pick, and it’s not hard to see why.

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“Staying at No. 5, the three players who seem to be most squarely on their radar are Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love, Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles and  (Ohio State safety Caleb) Downs,” Raanan wrote.

Styles is a freak athlete with sideline-to-sideline speed and great length. He’s a strong tackler, good in run defense and has shown elite skills in coverage after posting an 87.4 Pro Football Focus grade in that area last season.

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The Ohio State product can wear the green dot and will be a leader in New York’s defense for a decade.

Round 1, Pick 10 (via CIN): WR Jordyn Tyson, Arizona State

The Giants were one of the teams to attend Tyson’s workout, which was his last opportunity to quell fears about his injury history. By all accounts, Tyson did manage to do that.

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“I think Jordyn Tyson goes much higher than earlier expected,” ESPN’s Matt Miller said. “Teams are comfortable with the INJ history. Conversation for him starts at 5 but he’s off the board no later than 16.”

If not for his injury history, Tyson would likely be the undisputed No. 1 receiver in this class. The 6-foot-2, 203-pound pass-catcher can line up anywhere on the field, is a polished route-runner and can even block.

After losing Wan’Dale Robinson in free agency, the Giants need another weapon for quarterback Jaxson Dart across from star wideout Malik Nabers. Not only would Tyson check that box, he could very well provide an upgrade over Robinson.

Round 2, Pick 37: DT Kayden McDonald, Ohio State

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kayden mcdonald

kayden mcdonald

The loss of Lawrence will leave a void in the middle of the Giants’ defense, hurting both the pass-rush and run defense. Making matters worse, New York was already weak upfront, even with Lawrence on the roster.

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While McDonald isn’t much of a pass-rusher, he showed improvement in that area last season with a career-high three sacks. He really shines as a run defender, with the Ohio State product posting the best PFF grade in the nation in run defense.

Once viewed as a first-round pick, the belief is most teams now have him with a second-round grade because of his lack of pass-rush prowess.

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That’s just fine for the Giants, as McDonald can provide the kind of boost to the run defense from Day 1 that New York needs.

Round 4, Pick 105: CB Tacario Davis, Washington

The loss of Cor’Dale Flott leaves the Giants with a big void after the team failed to adequately address the position in free agency, leaving a potential starting duo of Paulson Adebo and uninspiring free-agent signing Greg Newsome outside.

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After taking a step back in 2024, Davis rebounded with a strong showing after he transferred to Washington. The 6-foot-4, 200-pound cornerback gave up a passer rating of just 50.6 in coverage, notched a personal bests two interceptions and he showed out in the run game with an impressive PFF grade of 81.8.

Davis can offer some competition for Newsome on the boundary, and it’s not crazy to think he could win that competition in Year 1.

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Munich 2026 Final: Ben Shelton vs Flavio Cobolli preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds, and betting tips

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Match Details

Fixture: (2) Ben Shelton vs (4) Flavio Cobolli

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Date: April 19, 2026

Tournament: Bavarian International Tennis Championships

Round: Final

Venue: MTTC Iphitos e.V. tennis club in Munich, Germany

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Category: ATP 500

Surface: Clay

Prize Money: €2,561,110

Live Telecast: USA – Tennis Channel | UK – Sky Sports | Canada – TSN

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Ben Shelton vs Flavio Cobolli preview

Shelton pictured at the 2026 BMW Open | Image Source: GettyShelton pictured at the 2026 BMW Open | Image Source: Getty
Shelton pictured at the 2026 BMW Open | Image Source: Getty

Second seed Ben Shelton will face off against fourth seed Flavio Cobolli in the final of the 2026 BMW Open on Sunday, April 19.

Shelton started his season with a quarterfinal run at the ASB Classic and followed it up with another quarterfinal finish at the Australian Open, where he lost to Jannik Sinner. He then went on to win the Dallas Open and reached the quarterfinals in Houston before arriving in Munich. There, he defeated Emilio Nava, Alexander Blockx, Joao Fonseca, and Alex Molcan 6-3, 6-4 to reach the final.

Cobolli pictured at the 2026 BMW Open | Image Source: GettyCobolli pictured at the 2026 BMW Open | Image Source: Getty
Cobolli pictured at the 2026 BMW Open | Image Source: Getty

Meanwhile, Cobolli’s standout result this season is his title run at the Mexican Open. He also made the semifinals of the Delray Beach Open, losing to Sebastian Korda, but hasn’t had many other notable results. In Munich, he beat Diego Dedura, Zizou Bergs, Vit Kopriva, and Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-3 to set up a clash with Shelton.


Ben Shelton vs Flavio Cobolli head-to-head

Shelton leads Cobolli 3–2 in their head-to-head. Cobolli won their first two meetings in Geneva and Washington in 2024, while Shelton has taken the last three in Acapulco, the Canadian Open, and the Paris Masters in 2025.

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Ben Shelton vs Flavio Cobolli odds

Player Moneyline Handicap Bets Total Games
Ben Shelton -525 -4.5 (-105) Over 21.5 (-115)
Flavio Cobolli +360 +4.5 (-140) Under 21.5 (-125)

(Odds via BetMGM)


Ben Shelton vs Flavio Cobolli prediction

Shelton plays with clear intent. The serve sets the tone, the forehand follows, and he looks to finish points before rallies really take shape. When he’s confident, everything happens quickly and on his terms.

Cobolli is more about structure and balance. He moves well, absorbs pace, and is comfortable building points rather than rushing them. He’s willing to stay in rallies and wait for openings instead of forcing them.

The key is whether Shelton can keep control early. If he’s landing first serves and dictating with his forehand, Cobolli may struggle to settle. But if rallies extend, Cobolli’s consistency and movement can start to make things uncomfortable. The American’s firepower gives him the edge, but he’ll need to stay disciplined to avoid letting the match drift.

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Pick: Shelton to win in straight sets.


Ben Shelton vs Flavio Cobolli betting tips

Tip 1: The match will have over 21 games.

Tip 2: Shelton to win at least one set with a score of 7-5 or better.