NBA CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES : Notes : Back for More: Rodman Beats Pain

This series has been a boon for people who sell electrical impulse stimulators, the gizmos that are supposed to speed up the healing process by keeping the blood circulating in an injured area.

Laker guard Byron Scott has practically been married to one since suffering a torn left hamstring while practicing the day before Game 1. Now, it’s Piston forward Dennis Rodman who can’t leave home without it, thanks to upper back spasms.

Rodman took it a step further. After playing well again in Game 3--19 rebounds and 12 points in 28 minutes--he spent the next 30 minutes or so on the trainer’s table on his stomach. In addition to the electrical device, he also had an ice bag planted on his back. Most of the time he was out of the game was spent lying along the sideline in front of the Piston bench, a la Rick Mahorn with a similar injury in last season’s finals, and receiving more ice treatments from trainer Mike Abdenour.

“I’m getting the double whammy,” Rodman said.

But at least he was able to play.

“It was killing me,” Rodman said of his back. “It was hurting.

“It wouldn’t have made a difference if I had stretched a lot. I knew I would get hit in the back. I knew I would get hit in the side. But, hey, these are the championships, so you’ve got to keep going.”

The day had its soothing moments, beyond another great rebounding effort. A notoriously bad free-throw shooter--62.6% in the regular season--he made all six attempts Sunday.

Piston guard Isiah Thomas looked in on injured Laker Magic Johnson Saturday night, staying only long enough to see how his close friend was doing and being careful not to hang around too long.

“I went by his house last night,” Thomas said. “I just went by to give him a kiss, to say I was here if he needed me and that I love him. That’s it. I didn’t ask him how he was doing. It’s a fine line to walk. I didn’t want to make it look like I was trying to decipher information from him or anything.”

Despite all the injuries, Laker Coach Pat Riley said no one should extend sympathy to the Lakers.

“I was taught long ago by Adolph Rupp (at Kentucky)--my greatest coach--that courage and will and heart are fine, but the main thing is winning,” Riley said. “Anyone you can describe as having great will and heart is a loser, because those are things you say about (losers).”

The debate continues. . . .

Should Johnson risk long-term injury to play in Game 4 on Tuesday night, or should he call it a season?

Mark Aguirre, the Piston forward and a close friend of Johnson, said Sunday: “I would think it would be risky for him and the Lakers’ franchise. I would think that with this being the possibility of being the last game, he would not play. But knowing him the way I do, it’s going to be hard to keep him off the court.”

Likewise, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said pulling Johnson from Sunday’s game after 4 minutes 46 seconds was best.

“I didn’t expect him to play (on Sunday),” Abdul-Jabbar said. “It would just be too risky to ask him to play with the injury.”

Add Abdul-Jabbar: When a reporter noted that his 13 rebounds were a season-high, the soon-to-retire center smirked and said: “Better late than never.”

There have been four four-game sweeps in NBA Finals history--in 1959, Boston swept Minneapolis; in ‘71, Milwaukee swept Baltimore; in ‘75, Golden State swept Washington; and in ‘83, Philadelphia swept the Lakers.

Times staff writer Sam McManis contributed to this story.