The graphic is on screen for no more than three seconds, but it has given the viewer a little extra information, maybe diverted his eye, maybe kept him from tapping the remote to check in on the Saints-Bears NFL Thursday Night game.

It’s just one moment of a well-executed broadcast, when Lowe and producer Scooter Vertino, seated side-by-side in the truck, orchestrate the coverage of an NBA game. Vertino is in constant contact with announcers Marv Albert, Mike Fratello and Reggie Miller and paints the broad strokes for Lowe to execute as he directs the cameramen, graphics experts and other technicians.

Tonight when the Wizards face the Lakers in the second half of this week’s TNT doubleheader, the broadcast will be the product of a crew of more than 50 people, nearly half of them stationed in “the truck,” a cramped, dimly-lit structure loaded with computers, television screens, cables, and push-button boards.

This is where all the decisions are made — which camera to use, which replays, which graphics, video and sound bites. It all happens quickly. People often talk at the same time. Disagreements between the producer and director are not uncommon.

Vertino, a former point guard at Flint Hill School in Oakton, and Lowe, a graduate of Howard University, sit at the front of the truck, facing dozens of high-definition TV screens.

At Vertino’s left is an associate director who produces video clips and is in touch with the scorer’s table. At Lowe’s right, is the technical director who hits the switches for the appropriate cameras. Behind them at two desks are stats, replay, and graphics personnel, ready to provide what their bosses want.

Midway though the first period of the Wizards-Celtics game, the associate producer alerts the crew that the first TV timeout is due and the edict is issued, “Jamison for break.”

Moments later, when Wizards guard DeShawn Stevenson drives to the basket and loses the ball, the associate producer yells, “There’s a break,” just as the referee blows the whistle to call Stevenson for an offensive foul.

After Wizards’ and Celtics’ logos whip across the screen, followed by the score, a replay of a Jamison 3-point shot, from a floor camera, takes the viewer into the commercial break.

Before the second period begins, the alert goes out, “Forty [seconds] to billboards. Holiday shot.” After 5-4-3-2-1 countdown, a live “holiday shot” of the Capitol building is the backdrop for the “billboard,” a rapid-fire set of ads for a movie, a CD, insurance company and an electronics retailer.

When the introduction is complete, Vertino requests that the next “holiday shot,” have something “Christmasy.” Sure enough, after the next break, they come back from commercial with a live picture of the White House with the National Christmas Tree in the foreground.

“Perfect,” says Vertino, in a rare moment of satisfaction, that quickly passes as the action resumes.

Up next » Wizards at Lakers


When » Tonight, 10:30 • Where » Staples Center • TV/Radio » TNT/980 AM

Entering last night’s game at Sacramento, Washington (8-32) and Los Angeles (32-8) were at opposite ends of the standings in their respective conferences. But the Wizards have given the Lakers trouble in their last two meetings. Washington took Los Angeles to the wire on Dec. 5, before falling 106-104. Last March, Wizards Gs Nick Young and DeShawn Stevenson scored 27 points a piece as Washington took L.A. to OT before losing, 126-120.