The painless zone is where pain is temporarily numbed, again for a single experience. Flow is similar to the arousal zone, but with less arousal and it continues for multiple performances. Finally, the long-tem zone is the most emotional of the four. As its name implicates, it refers to a state that continues over a long period of time. For the most part, basketball needs to be played at controlled level of arousal.
Arousal can enhance a player's power, speed, determination, endurance and concentration.
Too much arousal though can cause the body to be flooded with adrenaline, which can adversely affect concentration and judgement as well as impair motor skills. While identifying these various levels of arousal, Clarkson's book is not a coaching book. So he does not provide drills of information on how help your players attain the proper level of arousal. Many of Jordan's well know battles are retold in the book, including those with Isiah Thomas, Doc Rivers, Larry Bird, Jeff Van-Gundy and Gary Payton. This is compared with his former adversary then teammate Dennis Rodman, who often allowed the pressure to get the better of him, especially in his pre-Chicago Bulls days.