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I agree with SamNVA that the held ball on the airborn shooter was to eliminate the up and down call when the ball was stopped by the defense. This interpretation also shows that the rule does not reward good defense, because the ruling would be a travel if the intent was to reward the defense.
I also agree with DTTB that you need to see it to call it. An extended period of time with shooter pushing the ball into the defender's hand and the defender pushing back might be a clear held ball. But a stoppage of the initial shooting or passing motion where the defender's hand slides off the ball afterwards does not seem to fit the bill to me. This is different from where a shooter is in the air, because that momentary stoppage of motion usually causes the player to return to the floor without a release and is an automatic held ball.
And what is this about a team calling timeout? A defender with one hand pushing the ball does not have control - how can the defense get a TO in this situation?
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