.@KristenLedlow has the latest news on Kevin Love… https://t.co/OSEr1DnjQF
— NBA TV (@NBATV) June 6, 2016
The Cleveland Cavaliers lost game two of the NBA Finals to the Golden State Warriors. Now down 2-0, the Cavs have received more bad news with power forward Kevin Love placed in concussion protocol after an elbow to the head, as reported by ESPN’s Doris Burke as well as NBA TV’s Kristen Ledlow in the clip above.
Love was hit with an inadvertent elbow from Harrison Barnes while fighting for a rebound late in the second quarter of the game. The forward fell to the ground in a heap and did not get back up until the play was over and a timeout was called.
Kevin Love catches an elbow to the back of the head. goes down for a while#ALLin216
(via @clippittv)pic.twitter.com/iTiGWnYJDR— NBA On Def Pen (@NBAOnDefPen) June 6, 2016
Somehow, Love stayed in the game after the stoppage and even started the second half. Unfortunately, he was unable to continue, subbing himself out of the game early in the third quarter and heading straight to the locker room. He would not return.
Of course, this brings to light the larger issue of concussion protocol in the NBA. I am no doctor, nor do I know all the details, so I will reserve judgment on how the Cavs trainers handled the situation. According to both Burke and Ledlow, they did not see any concussion symptoms exhibited by Love immediately after the hit and during halftime.
However, there is something to be said about the process in general. First, the officials did not stop play while Love was clearly in pain and clutching his head. Second, that Love was immediately allowed back in the game seems shortsighted and I have doubts about whether extensive enough tests can be concluded during a timeout. Finally, the testing is completed by team doctors, and while I won’t doubt the validity of what the Cavs’ trainers have claimed without knowing all the facts, it is easy to see that there may be a conflict of interests in these situations.
Regardless, all eyes will now be on Kevin Love, who has not officially been diagnosed with a concussion, and how he will recover in the next few days. There are two full days in between games two and three, but if he does indeed have a concussion, it would be difficult to see him playing in the must-win contest in Cleveland.
