"Warriors power forward David Lee had his second surgical procedure to flush out an infection in his left elbow Monday, setting off a whirlwind of speculation as to how the injury was initially treated.

In a unique move by the Warriors, who are usually guarded when it comes to injuries, they made the doctor available to the media Tuesday. Dr. Bill Maloney said that the infection probably could not have been avoided, then explained the treatment process and offered a glowing outlook for Lee's recovery.

Lee, Golden State's $80 million man, was still hospitalized at Stanford Hospital on Tuesday for further treatment and monitoring.

The 6-foot-9 forward got a puncture wound from Wilson Chandler's tooth in the third quarter of the Warriors' win over the Knicks last Wednesday. Lee's elbow was wrapped, he returned to the game, and he made two free throws with 1.5 seconds left to put the Warriors up by five points. After the game, the Knicks' doctors cleaned the wound and sent Lee on his way.

"I know there is a lot of speculation out there, but it almost doesn't matter how it was treated," Maloney said. "I don't think they could have avoided this. The die was cast when he got the tooth through the skin with a deep enough puncture wound to allow the bacteria to get in there."

The Warriors flew to Chicago for the tail end of a back-to-back, and Lee awoke Thursday in "the worst pain" of his life and went to the emergency room. His elbow looked like a grapefruit that had been kicked around a dirt lot as he explained why he was missing the Bulls' game with an "elbow scratch."

After the 30-point loss to Chicago, Lee was evaluated by the Bulls' doctors and went back to the emergency room. That's when new owner Joe Lacob, who had corresponding business in New York and Chicago, stepped in. He had his plane wait at Midway Airport for Lee and general manager Larry Riley, and they flew back to the Bay Area."