NBA playoffs: Pacers silent about changes or George Hill's status entering Game 6

Indianapolis • The Indiana Pacers head into Game 6 against the New York Knicks in unfamiliar territory.

Point guard George Hill is out with a concussion, with NBA rules requiring him to pass a concussion test before he can play again. The Pacers have no idea whether that will come in time for Saturday night's potential closeout game.

Officially, the team says Hill is day-to-day.

It's a sensitive topic around Pacers headquarters, where coaches and players remain hopeful Hill will be back on the court but are preparing as if he won't be around to help.

"Learning about it at the last minute was not ideal," coach Frank Vogel said. "But as a coach you prepare for those scenarios all the time. If someone gets hurt in the first minute of the game, it's the same thing, right?"

This is not the same thing, and that became evident late Friday afternoon when the NBA posted its concussion protocol on its own website to clear up any potential discrepancies. Pacers spokesman David Benner instructed reporters to view the protocol because the team would not answer questions about it.

The policy states that any player diagnosed with a concussion must be held out of all activities until he is symptom-free at rest and they see no "appreciable" difference between the player's baseline test conducted before the season and the test after the injury.

Then the player must prove he is symptom-free as the level of exertion increases. Team doctors can then determine whether the player passes, a decision that must be discussed with Dr. Jeffrey Kutcher, the NBA's director of the concussion program.

The league has not established a timetable for how long players must sit out before returning because each injury is different. Sometimes, the recovery time is quick. Kobe Bryant, for instance, did not miss a game after breaking his nose and being diagnosed with a concussion in February 2012.

Vogel and the Pacers would not provide details of the symptoms Hill felt Thursday, citing federal privacy laws. Vogel did say he was informed of the injury following Thursday's morning shootaround and found out via text message at 4 p.m. that Hill had been ruled out of the game.

Hill did not attend practice Friday, and Vogel said he had not spoken with his starting point guard before the session ended. Hill is expected to undergo at least one more concussion test before tipoff against the Knicks.

The Pacers haven't ruled Hill out — and neither have the Knicks.

"With or without George [Hill], the pressure has got to stay the same," Knicks coach Mike Woodson told reporters during a conference call. "We're preparing as if he is going to play. But the pressure has got to come whether he [Hill] is out there or someone else is out there."

The severity of the injury is unclear, too. —

Schedule

Saturday

O New York at Indiana, 6 p.m., ESPN

Pacers lead series 3-2

Monday

• Indiana at New York, 6 p.m., TBD

Conference finals

Sunday

• Memphis at San Antonio, 1:30 p.m., Ch. 4

Wednesday

• Miami vs. New York-Indiana winner, 6:30 p.m., TNT