ESPN NBA

If you walk into most NBA locker rooms before a game, three things are always be present:

• A TV, rolling video of the upcoming opponent.
• A mini-buffet, with the most amazing collection of gum, as well as various power bars, fruit and the like.
• A dry erase board, often penned by an assistant coach, with various things the players need to know.

A typical NBA board looks like it would have a helpful reminder or two for young players, and a hint of strategy.

You walk in to the Magic locker room pre-game, and head coach Stan Van Gundy mans the dry erase marker himself. And that board ... it's beautiful. It just is. His penmanship is meticulous. The colors are vivid (is it possible he has better pens than everybody else?). The information is intense -- every square inch of the board is thick with insight.

This board is vastly more than helpful reminders. It's a multi-faceted plan of attack.

In Philadelphia last week, I stared for some time as Van Gundy finished his masterpiece. I wasn't even really trying to learn anything about Orlando's approach -- I was more just reveling in the presence of a master at work. (I would have watched just the same had he been throwing pots, blowing glass or painting watercolors.)

But then I worried -- all this information. Was it too much? Can humans run up and down the court, living in the moment, while carrying so much in their heads? Was it overwhelming? Is this somehow tied in to what Shaquille O'Neal was saying about Van Gundy teams eventually melting down?

As I was thinking about all this a Magic PR staffer stopped by to make absolutely certain I was not going to take any pictures or notes from Stan Van Gundy's board. Damn right. That thing needs to be protected. (UPDATE: Some teams, like Cleveland, reportedly cover their board when the media is in the room pre-game.)

Then I asked Adonal Foyle -- a guy who has played for all kinds of coaches -- if Stan Van Gundy overloaded his teams with information. His thoughts were interesting -- he acknowledged too much information could be a bad thing, but guessed that the Magic roster was one that could handle it. I'll let him explain for himself: