On Charlotte Bobcat Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and the NBA's concussion protocol

    MIAMI – Charlotte Bobcats rookie Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is expected to miss at least the team’s next two games – tonight against the Miami Heat and Wednesday against the Cleveland Cavaliers – before he’d be cleared to play following a concussion suffered Saturday night in Houston.

            Kidd-Gilchrist was released from a Houston hospital Sunday and flew to Miami to rejoin the team. But before he plays again, he’s required to pass neurological tests specified under a year-old NBA concussion protocol.

            Supervised by Dr. Jeffrey Kutcher, a neurology professor with the University of Michigan, the NBA’s protocol has each player do baseline neurological testing each preseason. After a player is diagnosed with a concussion, as Kidd-Gilchrist was following a collision with teammate Jeff Taylor, he must be symptom-free before any testing starts.

            Then he’s put through various forms of exertion – riding on a stationary bike, jogging and eventually basketball-style agility drills. Once he can go through those drills with no reoccurrence of concussion symptoms, he can be cleared to play again.

            It appears the earliest Kidd-Gilchrist would play again would be Friday’s home game against the Los Angles Lakers, and playing then is no given.