Indiana Pacers forward Paul George took a knee to the head from Dwyane Wade during his team’s Game 2 loss to the Miami Heat on Tuesday night. Wade lost control of his handle early in the fourth quarter and George got a hand on it, which sent both players scrambling for the loose ball. Wade inadvertently kneed George in the head in the process.
George remained facedown on the court for a short period of time and the Pacers called a timeout. Indiana fans breathed a sigh of relief when their two-time All Star remained in the game, but George later made some disturbing comments about the injury.
“I blacked out as soon as it happened and then … however much time was remaining, I was just blurry,” George said, via SI.com’s Point Forward. “The trainers will look at it and see what [symptoms] are going to be from that. We’re just going to go day to day with it, I guess.”
Technically, the trainers should have looked at it before allowing George to remain in the game. The symptoms he described (blacking out and blurred vision) sure sound like a concussion, but Pacers.com writer Scott Agness was told George answered all of the necessary questions on the bench before staying on the floor.
Per league rules, George must be symptom-free for 24 hours before he can play again. The league will likely monitor the situation closely because of his postgame comments. Then again, this is the NBA. It’s all about the product.
