Paul George cleared to play in Game 3 vs. Miami Heat
By Josh Hill
There were some serious questions about the immediate basketball future of Paul George following the double knee to the head he took from Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade in Game 2 this week.
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George was diagnosed with a concussion following that collision with Wade and there was a lot of doubt as to whether or not he’d be playing in Game 3 on Saturday night.
After a few days of non-stop worrying, things have seemingly calmed down and we’ve reached a conclusion about the status of George for this weekend.
According to the Indiana Pacers themselves, George has passed concussion protocol and has been cleared to play in Game 3 against the Miami Heat.
"The Pacers staff consulted with Dr. Jeffrey Kutcher, the NBA’s Director of Concussion Management, throughout George’s progress through the protocol and today cleared him to return to normal basketball activity. George will participate in tomorrow’s shootaround and barring any unforeseen complications, he will play in Saturday’s game at the Miami Heat."
This is what Pacers fans wanted to hear, as there is no chance the team is beating the Miami Heat of George is on the bench.
That still may be the case, as he’s simply been cleared to play and isn’t confirmed to play but the chances that he misses Game 3 in Miami are drastically lower than what they were this past week.
George being cleared to play in of itself gives the Pacers a boost and after their breakdown in Game 2, they’ll need all the pick up the can get ahead of a game 3 that might end up defining the rest of the series.