In game 2 of the NBA Finals, Cleveland Cavaliers power forward Kevin Love suffered a concussion after taking an elbow to the head from Harrison Barnes as Barnes was going for a rebound. The hit forced Love to sit out the second half of the game as he entered the league’s concussion protocol. While Love has been cleared to fly, his status for game 3 is still up in the air, and will have an impact on online NBA sports betting odds for the game.
With only three days between games 2 and 3, it is unclear if Love will be able to play on Wednesday or if he will be able to play again in this series. Love, who is in his second year with the Cavaliers, missed most of the playoffs last season after dislocating his shoulder in the first round of the playoffs last year.
Without Love and Kyrie Irving, who injured his knee in game 1 of the finals last season, the Cavaliers lost to the Golden State Warriors in six games. Since the team was healthy heading into the finals this year, many experts expected the Cavs to have a better chance of winning the championship, but they have been unable to slow down the Warriors and are down 2-0.
Love’s injury came at the worst possible time because the team could use his scoring and rebounding to keep up with the high scoring Warriors.
Before Love can be eligible to play on Wednesday, he has to pass a series of tests and be symptom free before being cleared by a league doctor. If Love is unable to play and the Cavaliers lose game 3, they will be down 3-0, and in danger of being swept by the Warriors.
After love was inadvertently hit in the head by Barnes, he fell to the ground clutching his head before going to the bench. After a few minutes, Love returned to the game. In the third quarter, he started experiencing dizziness and asked to be subbed out of the game. He was taken to the locker room to be checked for concussion symptoms and never returned to the game.
In game 1 of the Finals, Love had 17 points and 13 rebounds. In game 2, he had 5 points and 3 rebounds before leaving the game.
When asked why Love was allowed to return in the second quarter after getting hit in the head, head coach Tyronn Lue said Love wasn’t exhibiting any signs of a concussion in the second quarter and halftime.
If Love can’t play in game 3, it is unknown if he will be able to play in game 4 or any other games if the series goes longer than four games.
In 2012, Love missed the final seven games of the season after suffering a concussion, so if he is expected to be out that long, he will not return to play in the finals.
If Love is unable to play, Tyronn Lue will likely give either Timofey Mozgov, who played well against the Warriors in the finals last year, or Channing Frye, who was shooting well before riding the bench for most of the finals, more playing time.