Finger injury

I’m new here. I’ve had an injured left pinky finger for about 4 to 5 months now and have had very little luck with it healing fully. I want to ask a few questions but first let me describe the injury. The injury is from basketball. I actually don’t know exactly how I injured it other than that I gradually started getting discomfort in the finger when playing and I kept playing 2 or 3 times a week for about 6 weeks thinking the problem would just go away. I’ve been getting physical therapy for about 3 months now. It helps, but the problem is that I have to play basketball with two fingers buddy taped, which I HATE doing because it really limits my effectiveness. I saw sports medicine doctor who prescribed two weeks of Vioxx. That helped too, but the finger didn’t fully heal. My physical therapist suspects that I have a partially torn ligament and that I may have mild tendinitis. The big joint right where the finger and palm connect is loose and wobbly. I’ve tried playing many times just taping the one finger rather than buddy taping two fingers. I use thick athletic tape and wrap it around the loose joint. This provides much more support than not taping it at all, but less support than buddy taping two fingers. As a result, a few hours after I play (if I don’t buddy tape) the finger becomes sore and the soreness usually lasts a few weeks. The soreness does continually decrease but it never goes away. So, here are my questions:

Has anyone here ever had a similar finger injury?
Do I have any treatment options besides physical therapy and taking anti-inflammatory meds like Vioxx?
Are there any ways to protect the finger other than buddy taping?
Do you think I’ll ever be able to play on a regular basis again without needing to buddy tape?