First half thoughts from Game 1 of the 2012 Western Conference Finals

1. Battle of the 6th men
The series between the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder features a battle of the top two 6th men in the NBA.  Manu Ginobili ended the first quarter on an absolute tear, knocking down several difficult shots including a fadeaway three pointer at the buzzer, and finished the half with 10 points off the bench.  Ginobili's production is huge for San Antonio which is desperate for a player who can join Tony Parker in creating easy shots for both himself and his teammates.  James Harden, the 6th man of the year struggled with his shot, converting on only 1 of 9 shots in the half.  Oklahoma City will need him to shoot better in the second half in order to stay in the game when Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook rest on the bench.
2.  San Antonio turnovers
In recent years coach Gregg Popovich has transformed San Antonio from a slow paced defense oriented team into one of the highest scoring teams in the NBA.  San Antonio attempted to play the first half at a pace that bordered on out of control.  After committing 14 first half turnovers which lead to countless easy buckets for the Thunder who excel in transition, the Spurs must take care of the ball better in the 2nd half in order to force the Thunder to try to score in the half court, which the Thunder struggle to do when they aren't making their jump shots.  Durant and Thabo Sefolosha used their length and athleticism to disrupt the passing lanes, combining for 6 first half steals.
3.  Kevin Durant, scoring extraordinaire
Durant, a Washington D.C. native, is the NBA's three time defending scoring champion at only 23 years old.  Durant led all scorers with 13 first half points, including several incredibly difficult jumpers over Kawhi Leonard, the Spurs rookie shutdown perimeter defender.  Although scoring 13 first half points is nothing special for Durant, his performance this deep in the postseason at such a young age is nothing short of spectacular.  This season Durant has continued to develop his overall game and has expanded his effect on the game beyond merely scoring by substantially improving both his passing and defense.  Durant has already matured into arguably the greatest clutch player in the NBA, and as the game progresses his play will only continue to improve.