Game 1 Halftime Post

Score: CLE 51 GS 48

Welcome in to the halftime post of game 1 of the 2015 NBA Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors where the Cavaliers have a 51-48 advantage heading into the locker room.

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CLE: LeBron James, 19 points, 7-16 shooting. If there's anything the Cavs needed to rely on, it's the experience of LeBron James as his solid start helped set the tone for the team. LeBron knows what it's like to play in the NBA's grandest stage and he was creating offense to get his shot off and using his vision to find open teammates for a high percentage shot.

CLE: Tristan Thompson, 7 rebounds. Thompson is the Cavs' rebounding machine in these playoffs and he continues to do so at the highest level. Thompson grabbed 3 of the Cavs' offensive rebounds to give the Cavaliers a 2nd chance and they have cashed in on Thompson's rebounding ability and hustle for the ball to give the Cavs the slight edge.

GS: Bench play. The Warriors have depth and the bench has kept them alive. Barbosa is contributing, Iguodala is contributing, Mo Speights, who has barely played a minute in the playoffs, made surprising, yet crucial buckets to give the Warriors a spark. The bench has outscored the Cavs' bench 18-9 and single-handedly kept the Warriors afloat before Curry can get hot.

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GS: Rebounding. Though the Warriors have the rebounding edge now, it was ineffective in comparison to the Cavs' rebounding as they were getting out-hustled by Cleveland's younger big men. The Warriors need someone besides Bogut to box out and grab rebounds and Thompson has stepped it up, grabbing the same amount of rebounds as Bogut.

GS: Offensive inefficiency. A slow start in the first half for the Warriors, but they slowly picked it up. Early on the game, the Warriors couldn't hit anything and give credit to Cleveland's defense for forcing the Warriors to take ill-advised shots early on.

Bottom Line

Looks like the Warriors' nerves of playing in their first finals is starting to relax and their overall game needs to take it up another notch to take a 1-0 series lead. For the Cavs, rely on LeBron's leadership and he'll create some opportunities for the team. Let's see what happens in the 2nd half.