The idea is that, as the TNT NBA studio trio call their first game since 2001 with the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls on Thursday (8 p.m. ET), online coverage will include a camera focused on them continuously, even during TV ad breaks. Such online shots could allow announcers to make points they couldn't fit in on TV. And it can let viewers check whether Barkley — who said on NBC's Tonight Show on Monday that he watches The Mentalist and 30 Rock to kill time in TNT's NBA studio — is watching the game.

Other TNT elements Thursday include letting fans vote online for players that will get online-only cameras focused on them and the first TNT announcer — Smith — to join the swelling ranks of announcers who Twitter during games.