2009 NBA Finals

Sunday's Game 5

• Lakers 99, Magic 86 (Lakers win 4-1)

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FOXSports.com analysis

• Playoff results, schedule
• 2009 NBA Playoff Central
• Rosen: Why the Lakers won
• Behrendt: L.A's title sequence
• Rosenberg: Kobe not done yet
• Tomasson: Kobe proves critics wrong
• Feigen: Jackson in class of his own

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Video

• Postgame: Lakers celebrate 15th title
• Postgame: Kobe leads Lakers to title
• Postgame: Magic discuss Finals loss
• Marques Johnson's NBA Finals recap

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Photos

• NBA Finals, Game 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1

At the same time, there's plenty of room for improvement.

So then, what does this team need to ascend to the next level?

For the moment, the Bobcats are about three players and two seasons away from achieving solid mediocrity.

Straight Shooting

Stephon Marbury and the Knicks are engaging in a battle of nerves. As magnificent as his talents might be, Twinkle-Twinkle-Little-Starbury's presence on the court and in the locker room is toxic. Mike D'Antoni certainly had his fill of Marbury when their careers overlapped in Phoenix — and simply wants him gone.

But waiving Marbury is not an acceptable option for Madison Square Garden boss Jimmy Dolan, who has already wasted truckloads of his daddy's money.

So, by deactivating Marbury, the Knicks hope one of two things happen:

Indeed, the only mutually acceptable outcome would be for team president Donnie Walsh to persuade some desperate quasi-contender to give up something of value in a trade. A highly doubtful scenario.

If this situation is ever resolved, there are three more of Isiah Thomas' leftover time bombs that will have to be defused: How to arrange timely and profitable exits for Jerome James, Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph?

In other words, win or lose, the Knicks are still the Nix.

Vox Populi

We keep hearing that the Celtics are expecting a lot from Tony Allen this year, given that this is his second year back from knee surgery. What is your experience coming back from a serious injury (either personally or as a coach of an injured player)? What does T.A. have to do to regain his confidence and his ability? — Bill, Charlestown, MA

I had knee surgery to trim a torn meniscus cartilage when I was 40. This was at the very beginning of the arthroscopic revolution, and since some of the loose fragments were deemed too large to be simply sucked out, I had to be cut. It took me six months to get back on the court, and about a year before I felt comfortable.

Obviously, returning to action in the NBA is quite different.

The biggest problem that players coming back from serious injuries or surgeries face is their self-protective instincts. It's only natural to avoid undertaking the specific kinds of moves that might have originally caused a traumatic injury (as opposed to arthritic or wear-and-tear injuries). One-footed reverses. Jumping in a crowd. Reaching into a melee for a loose ball. Sharp cuts or spins. Or whatever.

Also, even after the most diligent rehabilitation, there's usually some kind of reduction of range of motion in the injured area — especially in a joint. So, given that there's been as complete a physical restoration as possible, the player has to be aware that he can no longer do everything the same way as he did before.

These inhibitions, coupled with the instinctive fear of reinjury, mean that a psychological rehabilitation is just as necessary as the physical rehab. It takes a certain kind of determination and pain tolerance to keep increasing the demands on the injured area with each workout. Going through this ordeal is generally easier for veterans, who have either dealt with previous injuries of their own, or have witnessed teammates and friends battle back from the same. That's precisely why many young players are much more cautious in their comebacks, and take so much longer to fully heal.

Allen just has to push himself, take any recommended meds and have post-workout icings, and also diligently undertake whatever specific weight and exercise work that have been prescribed to keep his knee strong — until he can hopefully reach the point where he doesn't think about the injury.

Because of all these factors, NBA players who undergo some form of major joint surgery usually need at least a full year to regain their chops.

Travels with Charley

I knew what his fellow refs thought of Dick Bavetta several years ago: During a timeout in a CBA game at Oshkosh, all interested parties were notified by the home team's radio guy that some as yet unidentified NBA player had just taken a punch at an as yet unidentified game official. One of the guys working the CBA game also worked a limited NBA schedule, and said: "I hope the ref was Dick Bavetta."

2009 NBA Finals

Sunday's Game 5

• Lakers 99, Magic 86 (Lakers win 4-1)

---

FOXSports.com analysis

• Playoff results, schedule
• 2009 NBA Playoff Central
• Rosen: Why the Lakers won
• Behrendt: L.A's title sequence
• Rosenberg: Kobe not done yet
• Tomasson: Kobe proves critics wrong
• Feigen: Jackson in class of his own

---

Video

• Postgame: Lakers celebrate 15th title
• Postgame: Kobe leads Lakers to title
• Postgame: Magic discuss Finals loss
• Marques Johnson's NBA Finals recap

  ---

Photos

• NBA Finals, Game 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1

A few years later I learned firsthand that Bavetta was indeed a jerk: Bavetta was addressing a preseason meeting of the CBA's coaches to go over some new rules and new interpretations of some old rules. When he was finished, he asked for questions.

It seems that several of my players had been complaining for years about some of the CBA refs' after-game activities. Given the relatively small cities that hosted CBA franchises, there weren't many appropriate nightclubs and bars to choose from where the players could party after the games. Those refs who were likewise interested in the same nocturnal pursuits were faced with the same limitations and subsequently frequented the very same venues.

Given all the available alcohol and female companionship, there were bound to be rivalries and confrontations between the players and the refs. Edgy faceoffs that the players swore subsequently influenced the refs' on-court judgment.

So I brought the subject to Bavetta's attention, emphasizing that it was never a healthy situation whenever refs and players tried to romance the same women. Didn't Bavetta think it would be best if the CBA refs were prohibited from frequenting these venues? Bavetta's response was to start laughing. "What's the matter, Charley? One of the refs got a girl you were after?"

Everybody joined in the laughter, and that was the end of that.

Early in the subsequent season, one of my players moaned when he saw that a certain ref was working the game. "Charley," the player said, "last week that guy was drooling all over the girl I was with at a club in Tampa Bay, and I had to get up in his face to make him go away. I'm telling you, man, it's gonna be payback time."

Sure enough, after the player merely shook his head after the ref tooted him for a charge that clearly should have been a block, two back-to-back toots signified a pair of technical fouls and banishment.

"What did I tell you, Charley?" the player said as he headed for the locker room.

The other team converted both techs, and we eventually lost the game by one point.

Thanks, Dick.