MORE: Ranking the 17 most important players in the Finals

He didn’t do it after spending about 30 seconds on the court crumpled in a heap, courtesy of Harrison Barnes’ accidental elbow. Play continued on the other end of the court while Love was on Mars, and Cleveland’s doctors didn’t bother to take him out of the game to check.

He didn’t do it after halftime, when those same doctors finally looked at him and said “yep, good to go. No symptoms.” A few minutes later, Love, clearly lost, checked himself out of the game with “dizziness” and ended his night.

It was reiterated on the TV broadcast and in a release by the team during the game: Love didn’t show any symptoms during the first half or at halftime, so the medical staff thought he was fine. That ignores the fact that getting crushed in the back of your head hard enough to end up on the ground for a little minutes is, in itself, a concussion symptom.

MORE: Must-see photos from the 2016 NBA Finals

Why did that happen? How did it happen? Was it an honest mistake by the staff, or were they thinking about the NBA’s concussion protocol? Like Jeff Van Gundy said, it’s not a quick process. Love can’t do anything until 24 hours post-impact, and even then, he’s got a ways to go. From the league’s official policy document:

Now, Love can’t come back until he’s symptom-free, in order, “from a stationary bike, to jogging, to agility work, to non-contact team drills.”

That’s a lot to deal with. And in a series that the Cavs already trail 2-0, it’s time they may not have. Game 3 is Wednesday (9 p.m. ET, ABC) in Cleveland. If they rolled the dice on Love being OK, despite his in-game nap, they lost. Twice.

MORE: Ranking every Finals rematch, from 1953 to LeBron

Brain injuries don’t come up often in the NBA; it’s not a contact sport in the way that football and hockey are, so TV audiences, media and teams are less used to reacting in the moment — but Love, for his own safety and public perception, should’ve been taken out immediately. You do not react the way he did if you are OK.

Now, you’re going to see clueless people wonder why Love came out at at all, since he was “fine” initially. It’s a failure of the process, and for Cavs fans, it should be as much of a disappointment as the final score.