Concussion has become a polarizing medical ailment across the sports community in recent years. The four major sports have implemented a protocol when dealing with head injuries as alarming health consequences have been revealed and seen in retired athletes.

Just hours before they were to take on the New York Knicks in Game 5 of their semifinal playoff series on Thursday night, the Indiana Pacers learned that they would be without George Hill because of a concussion suffered two nights earlier. Hill, who took a number of hard blows in Game 4, reportedly suffered the head injury on a hard foul by Tyson Chandler.

Hill complained of a headache during the Pacers' morning practice session on Thursday and took the NBA’s required concussion test a few hours later. He failed and was forced to watch his team lose at Madison Square Garden from the dimly-lit trainer’s room.

Hindsight is 20/20 and a concussion is a serious issue, but you have to wonder when Hill began feeling the symptoms. Frank Vogel said Thursday night that the point guard felt symptoms “at some point over the last two days.”

As Mike Wells astutely reported, Tyler Hansbrough urged Hill to undergo testing for a concussion. Hansbrough dealt with vertigo during his rookie season after suffering one.

The NBA instituted uniform concussion protocol before the 2011-12 season, making this season the first full campaign of its existence. There are undoubtedly numerous concussions that go undiagnosed. A player must feel the right symptoms, disclose them to his team’s medical staff and then they must be deemed serious enough for testing. From player to player, pain levels vary and the male ego comes into play as well.

It’s possible that in this case Hill felt off on Wednesday, but decided to wait before informing any team employees. Indiana went into Game 5 with a 3-1 series lead and three chances to eliminate New York and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

By my count, there were 13 diagnosed concussions in the NBA this season (including Hill and not including Harrison Barnes) that officially made their way onto a medical report. Darrell Arthur of the Memphis Grizzlies suffered two in less than three months, which makes him an interesting case going forward.

As you might expect, the wording of the league policy leaves a lot to infer. The Pacers have listed Hill as “day-to-day,” which makes sense given that the season is day-to-day in the playoffs. A player must pass a series of tests before returning to the floor, including a handful of non-contact and conditioning drills. There is a line in the rulebook that has alarmed many around the Pacers: “The process will likely take at least several days, if not weeks.”

Every case is different and all that means is that it’s impossible to determine when he will return. However, there is precedent for Hill to return as early as Saturday night, if not for possible games on Monday (Game 7) or Wednesday (Game 1 against the Miami Heat).

Arthur absorbed a blow to the head on Dec. 14, 2012 and initially had a “dental issue.” He was then diagnosed with what the Grizzlies called a “mild” concussion and missed the team’s next game. He was back on the floor three days later on Dec. 17, 2012. Arthur suffered a second concussion on March 3 and didn’t suit up again until March 22. There has been no indication that his quick return from the first concussion led to the second.

When looking at cases this season, I wasn’t concerned with the number of games missed by a concussed player, but rather the number of days they sat out. My sample size dropped to 11 cases because C.J. Miles of the Cleveland Cavaliers suffered a concussion on April 7 and never played another game.

Those players that failed a concussion test and returned this season – John Jenkins, Nikola Vucevic, Darrell Arthur, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Chris Kaman, Pau Gasol, Marvin Williams, Jeff Pendergraph and Anthony Davis – missed an average of 11 days.

Chris Kaman missed 27 days spanning January and February with a severe concussion, while Jenkins, Kidd-Gilchrist, Williams, Pendergraph and Davis all missed about a week.

It’s impossible to predict when Hill will be able to return to the floor – it could be Saturday, a few games into a potential series with the Heat or even the first game of the 2013-14 season – and to try and guess one way or the other is a losing proposition.

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The frontcourt of the Indiana Pacers overmatched the New York Knicks inside by +42 rebounding margin (186-144) through the first four games of the series.

In Game 5, Chris Copeland added a new dimension to the Knicks’ offense and helped to largely neutralize the effectiveness of Roy Hibbert and David West.

“I wouldn’t call it a mismatch, but I think I can help us spread the floor and get those guys away from the basket,” said Copeland. “I’m just trying to make spacing better by being out there on the wing, give Carmelo (Anthony) his opportunities on the wings, and give J.R. (Smith) more free space to roam and attack.”

Copeland’s presence helped the Knicks cut the rebounding deficit (43-40) by pulling Hibbert and West away from the basket on pick-and-roll plays and by roaming along the three-point line along the wings in Game 5.

With Hibbert and West drawn away from the basket, it opened up space for Tyson Chandler to tap the ball out for second chance opportunities.

Raymond Felton was also able to navigate through the lane for loose rebounds and grabbed four offensive rebounds in Game 5.

Copeland has shot the ball well from beyond the arc in the playoffs (.571) and has provided a constant offensive threat when on the court.

“I think we had great spacing tonight,” said Copeland after Game 5. “We moved the ball really well.”

Coming into the series, Frank Vogel highlighted Copeland on the scouting report as a possible threat.

“We thought we’d see him in the series and we know he’s a terrific offensive player, a good player all the way around, and you have to honor him at the three-point line,” said Vogel.

After watching Copeland make three three-pointers, the Pacers must adjust to defending the stretch forward heading into Game 6.

“You can’t allow the attempt with him, he’s that good of a shooter,” said Vogel.

With Jason Kidd remaining scoreless since April 23rd, and Amar'e Stoudemire and Steve Novak limited due to injuries, Copeland knows his offense will be needed to help New York win Game 6 on the road.

“I’m going to stay aggressive, my teammates want me to stay aggressive, the coaching staff as well,” said Copeland.

“I think (Chris) Copeland did an unbelievable job,” said J.R. Smith. “He’s got a whole lot of talent and we have a whole lot of confidence in him. For him to be a rookie and come in and step up as big as he did is huge for us.”

Copeland is confident the bench can provide a repeat performance in Game 6 after combining to score 35 of the Knicks' 85 points.

“It’s going to take a team effort for us to get over this hump and get out of this hole,” said Copeland. “I think everybody knows what we have to do when we get out on the floor. It’s going to take more than the first five for sure. The guys on the sidelines are staying ready and going out and helping when we can.” 

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In a game that the New York Knicks should have run away with, the Indiana Pacers narrowly missed an opportunity to steal one on the road and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals in the process.

The Knicks jumped out to a 7-0 lead at Madison Square Garden and never trailed on Thursday night to extend the series and force a sixth game. Indiana was without George Hill (concussion) and struggled mightily on offense, but still had a number of chances to close out the series.

“We were never out of the game. We just couldn’t get over the hump,” Roy Hibbert said afterward. “Unfortunately, we turned the ball over and we fouled. We didn’t have that last little push that we usually have.”

The Pacers were especially anemic on offense without their starting point guard, who was ruled out shortly before Game 5. Hill suffered the concussion on a hit from Tyson Chandler in Tuesday night’s Game 4. He watched the game from the dim trainer’s room after complaining of symptoms following this morning’s shootaround. His status for the remainder of the series is in doubt.

“Anytime you lose a guy like that, especially with the load he carries for us, it hurts,” David West said. “We had to play Lance [Stephenson] at the point guard for stretches, but we are a no-excuse group. We just didn’t play a complete enough game to close this team out on their home floor.”

Indiana shot 36.2 percent from the field, including 29.3 percent in the first half, and couldn’t convert easy points in transition or at the foul line. Turnovers have been a problem for the Pacers for the last month and the absence of Hill compounded the issue.

“It’s our Achilles heel,” Paul George said of turnovers at the podium. “In the fourth quarter there were a couple of possessions in a row where we just didn’t do a good job of taking care of the ball with their pressure. That’s just maturity for our team, it’s gotta be growth for us.”

D.J. Augustin, starting in Hill’s place, had an opportunity to earn himself some money this summer with a big performance. Instead, he finished with 12 points, two turnovers and not a single assist on 3-for-9 shooting in the 85-75 loss. He may have turned the ball over just twice in the box score, but he made several ill-advised passes. The most glaring came on a forced behind-the-back look to George on a botched fast break.

New York’s biggest lead was just 11 points, but they did a tremendous job of keeping the Pacers at arm’s length. A three by George narrowed the deficit to 75-71 with more than six minutes left in fourth quarter, but he answered it with an airball and the Knicks went on a 6-0 run to ensure victory.

Mike Woodson went back to his smaller lineup in this one after experimenting with Kenyon Martin as a starter in Game 4. The Pacers out-rebounded the Knicks by three despite the 10-point loss. The margin would have been larger had Hibbert not struggled with foul trouble.

He played just under 31 minutes and had nine points, seven rebounds and two blocks. Hibbert averaged 12.5 points, 10.7 rebounds and three blocks over the first four games.

The Knicks led 40-34 at the half and while the Pacers started the third quarter with an uncharacteristic flurry of points, they went on to commit 13 turnovers in the second half. Indiana really had no business challenging New York in this game when you consider how poorly they played.

“The game was right there for us,” West said with an exasperated look. “We had some costly turnovers, guys not following assignments. That goes down to concentration late in the game. We just didn’t make enough plays in this environment.

“You don’t get many opportunities to win a close-out game at Madison Square Garden and we just didn’t play well enough to complete that task.”

It’s no surprise that the Pacers constantly threatened because of their defense. They held New York to 41 percent shooting, sent them to the foul line just 17 times and limited them to seven made three-pointers. With a slightly-above average offense (and a healthy Danny Granger) this series just might have ended in a sweep.

Copeland Effect

Woodson finally removed Chris Copeland (29 combined minutes in the first four games) from his imaginary doghouse and the dreadlocked-rookie responded with inspiring play. In just under 20 minutes, he registered 13 points and four rebounds. He went 4-for-6 from the floor, hitting a number of timely three-pointers to answer Indiana rallies.

J.R. Smith was a bit better (4-for-11), but didn’t contribute enough for the Knicks to win without Copeland’s support. With Hill out I expected Raymond Felton to go off, but he didn’t capitalize on Augustin’s poor defense. Felton went 6-for-14 with 12 points and had four assists. He didn’t start really attacking until the second half when he suddenly realized that Augustin was incapable of sticking him.

Felton did do a great job of exposing the Pacers when Hibbert went to the bench with his fourth foul early in the third quarter. Ian Mahinmi has done a decent job of protecting the rim in the postseason, but New York got a lot of production from the roll man on pick-and-rolls with Felton with Hibbert on the bench.

Missing Freebies

It will be beaten to death between now and Saturday night’s Game 6, but the truth is that the Pacers may have ultimately lost this game at the foul line. You can’t let that happen in the postseason. They went 8-for-16 from the charity stripe in the first half and finished 19-for-33 (57.6 percent).

“It’s just guys not concentrating. We talked about it this morning; we need every single point out there,” West said. “I think we missed eight in the first half and that’s just guys not stepping up to the plate.”

Over their first 10 playoff games, Indiana shot 76.2 percent from the foul line. If they had shot that percentage on Thursday night, six additional points would have been scored and the entire complexion of the game would have changed.

Paul George vs. Carmelo Anthony

The energy that George has had to expend on the defensive end is really starting to show on the other end of the floor. He did another great job on Anthony -- helping hold Carmelo to 12-for-28 shooting for as many points as shot attempts -- but shot 7-for-18 himself.

George, who tallied 23 points, six rebounds and six assists in the loss, is shooting 34.8 percent (30-for-86) through five games, including an abysmal run from downtown. He is 10-for-42 (23.8 percent) from three in the series. He is also averaging five turnovers per game.

Conversely, Anthony is shooting 41.3 percent (50-for-121) against the Pacers.