That's right, people. As soon as American Idol Jordin Sparks finishes her work and it's time for basketball, TrueHoop will be with you throughout the game tonight.

We might even have some special guest insight from people who actually know about basketball.

A user's note for tonight: refresh often. I'll be updating this thing like crazy,

Also, I should tell you about a couple of cool things I just learned about. There a chat going all game long over here. And, most importantly: look! You can watch the first chunk of the game live online here. UPDATE: Not anymore! Live broadcast now over.

So, that's one question answered. It's Drew Gooden guarding Tim Duncan, with, essentially, every other Cavalier helping.

Ooh, next possession it's Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Plenty of different looks.

Whoa, who authorized a Bruce Bowen dribble drive?

Tony Parker -- doing whatever he wants. Here is the recipe for what he likely just ate. You play that well, you're bound to get knocked down hard. Job now complete, thanks to Sasha Pavlovic.

Wow, Nike already has commercials going with game footage from the mythical Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals? I didn't know the NBA let people market with highlights that fast. Anybody remember that happening before?

OK, ESPN's David Thorpe is watching in Florida, and sends his observations. First of many insights from Thorpedo:

• Gooden is too concerned with staying close to Oberto instead of quickly moving towards Duncan on ball screens when Tim is near the basket. He must get to TD quickly!
• When Big Z gets a paint touch, he needs to take his time and not worry about getting his shot blocked. Better he get a few blocked but draw some fouls too.
• Pavlovic, Nachbar, Kleiza, and Turkoglu are Euro forwards who put to death the concept of slow or unathletic swingmen from overseas. They are skilled and agile.

Foul number one on Tim Duncan. If Cleveland can get him a couple more in the first half, everything changes.

Slight change of topic: did you see this? Remember when America was irate about those automatic suspensions for leaving the bench area? David Stern says no owners proposed changing that rule, and it will remain. Also, it looks like no fix to the lottery is imminent, either.

Thorpe:

A telling tale? Cleveland is bothered by San Antonio's length inside, but the Spurs are having an easy time at the rim. TD has 3 blocks already and a few "shot alterations."

An email from TrueHoop reader Samuel:

I have no idea how this game is going to turn out, but I think the play that just happened explains why people sometimes get down on LeBron. Duncan pokes the ball away from Varejao, and Ginobili picks it up and weaves downcourt for an easy, uncontested lay-up. No big deal, except for the fact that it sure looks like that with minimal effort Lebron could have gotten back into position and forced Manu into a difficult shot. Instead, he gave up two easy points.

My response:

I knew I'd get this email, I really did. LeBron already has a foul, though, and without being several steps ahead and being in position to draw a charge, there's no play against the flopmeister. You run back on that in case he misses.

Thorpe:

• Cleveland is effectively doubling TD. He makes it harder on himself by driving baseline then countering middle-because that's where the help is coming from.
• Cleveland is taking far too long getting into some kind of offensive action. Oftentimes the shot clock is at 12 before a second Cav gets a touch.
• LeBron had TD guarding him on one possession with lots of time on the clock, but settled for a long jumper with a slight fade. Wasn't close to going in. He'll correct that and make TD pay when he gets caught on LeBron.
  

Tim Duncan's second foul is a big deal this early in the second quarter, and it practically appeared to be intentional as he leveled Anderson Varejao.

Daniel "Boobie" Gibson has made things happen for Cleveland, huh? He is refreshingly untimid.

Just pointing out LeBron hasn't done much of anything, and Cleveland is leading.

If I'm Mike Brown in this timeout, I'm turning to LeBron James and Daniel Gibson and asking: "who thinks they can draw a foul on Tim Duncan?"

TrueHoop reader Joel emails:

"As I'm sure you've noticed, the Cavs are handling Duncan on defense much in the same way that the Warriors treated Dirk -- throwing multiple guys at him coming from multiple angles. Which seems to be forcing the Spurs into a little frenzy on offense (hence that string of turnovers). Don't look now, but at 6:17 in the first quarter the Spurs had 16 points. With 8:37 in the second quarter the Spurs have 20 points -- a pretty remarkable change given how the Spurs shot out of the gate. As a Cleveland fan this is exactly the sort of thing they've done all season."

Tony Parker scores again, apparently having recovered from his big knockdown. Follows it up with a magnificent bounce pass.

Thorpe:

• One look at Tim Duncan's thin frame tells you all you need to know about Kevin Durant's skinny frame and what it may mean. I'm not sure Duncan could put up many bench reps of 185, but I'm quite sure he's one of the top five bigs of all time. Come to think of it, how many could Kareem do when he was 19?
• In my chat session yesterday I suggested that Parker was the third best point guard in the league. Am I wrong?
  

Thorpe says Nash and Kidd are tops. Arenas he counts as a combination guard.

Speaking of scoring guards ... where's Daniel Gibson? Let's see some Boobie! I will be interested to see after the game what the team's plus/minus is like. I bet he's the best Cavalier, by that measure, so far.

Thorpe:

• Cleveland is moving the ball better but they are allowing the Spurs to fan them towards the sideline and baseline. Attacking the middle will open up more lanes and shooters.

Just talked to Thorpe on the phone. He picks Tony Parker to be series MVP. I'm not on board. Parker has the matchup advantage and the skill. But, correct me if I am wrong, but he has never owned an entire playoff series before, has he? To me his brilliance has always been volatile.

Thorpe also points out something I had been thinking ... that the first half felt like the Detroit series. A "coin flip" game. This is not the San Antonio domination everyone had been expecting.

I asked Thorpe why he thought Daniel Gibson only played 12 minutes in the first half, and his response was that coaches have a hard time playing rookies. Thorpe said he could make the case that Cleveland would have won ten more games if they had been willing to play Gibson more all season.

Thorpe, someone who has trained several combo guards, is also a little mystified at how reluctant teams are to trust combo guards. But that's a story for another time.

J emails:

TD already has 14 points, 6 rebounds and 4 BLOCKS in the FIRST HALF ...I would just like to state for the record that the answer to the TD vs. Shaq debate (as to which is the true G.O.A.T. of big men) is not dependent on this series, BUT hopefully it ends the talk once and for all. Yes, I'm biased by being born on a small island in the Caribbean just like TD, but don't let my bias obscure the fact that Timmy is the real great of modern big men. P.S. I predict that TD gets that rare triple double points / rebounds / blocks!!! before the series is over. Ha!

I thought Cleveland was supposed to be the good offensive rebounding team. That possession with 4:35 left was murderous for Cleveland, now down nine.

I'd consider letting LeBron James bring the ball up. Makes it trickier to direct the help to keep him out of the lane.

Thorpe:

• Cleveland is getting lots of great shots. If they just start shooting a little better they can grab a lead again.

What it's like to be a Cleveland fan. When you're used to rooting for losses, the NBA Finals changes everything.

Down 64-49, I'm thinking it's time for a timeout. Ok, there you go, Mike Brown agrees with me.

One thing to think about: in the 2-3-2 format, the lower seeded team never wins those three home games in a row. I'm pretty sure that has never happened. Which means, in essence, Cleveland really has to win twice in San Antonio. Which means they better win one of these first two. This one would be ideal. Big hill to climb in the fourth quarter. UPDATE: Right, Miami did it last year. How quickly we forget. Dallas fans would tell you they didn't really win Game 5, though. And the Pistons did it in 2004, too. Did I mention that all my facts are from 1990?

Thorpe:

• The Cavs were horrid in most of the 3rd quarters against the Pistons. They look just as bad tonight.

Does Donyell Marshall still count as a three-point shooter if he almost never hits them? When is the last time he had a hot shooting game? UPDATE: Love it if someone would tell me his three-point field-goal percentage since his big game against New Jersey.

Look, here's an original painting of LeBron James by a TrueHoop reader called Joel.

LeBron James is 2/13 so far in his first Finals game. Reggie Miller's first Finals game he was 1/16. Should have known he'd start hitting shots after I wrote that. Make it 4/15.

I know Varejao is a flopper, but Robert Horry did just mow him down, didn't he?

Is it just me? I want Gibson and/or LeBron James taking the shots now. Pavlovic makes me nervous. His aggression is excellent, but he misses a lot of shots.

Can you remember it getting this late in a playoff game with no one on either team in foul trouble?

Eight points in two minutes. Doable.

Ten points in one minute. Not doable.

Gibson is 7-9. Has only played 27 minutes so far.

Did you notice Michael Finley's first Finals game has also not gone well? He's 1-7.

Spurs win. Tim Duncan is cranking out bland "insight."

Thorpe:

• Again, like the Detroit series, Cleveland needs to try and score 90+ by pushing the ball more and taking quick but good shots rather than wait for better shots that often do not come.
  

I swear, every time LeBron gets the ball he likes to hold it for three or four seconds to look at the defense. That pause helps the defense. I'd love him to mix in some catch, rip, and go. That would get him layups sometimes.

Salute the Spurs. They played well all game, and then they finally managed to get those outside shots to fall. They finished 6/16 from downtown, which is just one make better than Clevelands 5/15. But San Antonio outrebounded Cleveland by 11. That's not something the Cavaliers are used to.

Fouls, for the record, were about even. 16 called on Cleveland, 15 on San Antonio. This series could get very physical if they're going to keep calling so few fouls.

Plus/minus from Popcorn Machine: so, want to guess who was the best Cavalier? Daniel Gibson was +4, but Anderson Varejao was +5. Only other Cleveland player in the black was Donyell Marshall. Larry Hughes and Zydrunas Ilgauskas were both -18. Bruce Bowen led all players at +12.

Also, look at the gameflow: midway through the third quarter, Robert Horry and Manu Ginobili checked in for Fabricio Oberto and Michael Finley. It was quite some time before Cleveland stopped the bleeding. One thing about Ginobili being practically an All-Star who comes off the bench: he always gets to be fresh, playing against guys who are tired. That Popovich decision, to bring him off the bench, accentuates Ginobili's natural Energizer Bunnyness.