Biggest Takeaways from Cleveland Cavaliers' 2015 NBA Playoffs Debut

The Cleveland Cavaliers passed their first playoff test Sunday, knocking off the Boston Celtics 113-100 in front of a sold-out Quicken Loans Arena crowd.

While the final score left no doubt about which team was superior, much of the game did. The Cavaliers trailed by four points at the end of the first quarter, appearing rusty after playing just one starterless game in the previous four days.

Cleveland would grab the lead thanks to a 22-7 second-quarter run. Boston trailed by as many as 20 points in the second half before cutting the Cavs' lead to six. The Cavaliers responded with their own 9-0 streak and would never look back.

Although Cleveland took the lead for good in the second quarter, a flurry of Boston runs and other issues made it clear that this series may not be as easy as some originally thought.

The Cavs still must win three additional games against Boston in order to advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The first step of the championship quest, however, is now complete. 

No Worries About Playoff Kyrie Irving

Let it be known that April 19, 2015, was the day the "Kyrie Irving has never been to the playoffs" talk officially died.

Irving roared into the postseason, leading all scorers with 30 points on 11-of-21 shooting from the field and 5-of-9 from deep. He also chipped in three rebounds, two assists, a steal and a blocked shot. Despite all of his work with the basketball, Irving registered just a single turnover.

For those who've watched Irving all season, his success in the bright lights should come as no surprise.

While some players shrink when asked to perform in big moments, Irving has thrived in other nationally televised situations. He won the 2013 Three-Point Contest at All-Star Weekend, took home MVP honors during the 2014 All-Star Game and recorded 50-plus points twice during the 2014-15 regular season.

A lover of plays, musicals and the spotlight, Irving's performance in Game 1 against the Celtics was certainly Oscar-worthy.

Isaiah Thomas Must Be Stopped

Chris Carlson/Associated Press

After just one game, it's clear who the Celtics' best player in this series will be.

Thomas, the team's leading scorer and sixth man, played at a different level than his Boston teammates did.

The 5'9" reserve point guard put up 22 points, five rebounds and 10 assists, joining Oscar Robertson and LeBron James as the only players in history to register such numbers in their playoff debuts. Boston led the Cavaliers by five points with Thomas in the game—the only Celtics contributor with a positive plus/minus rating.

Coach David Blatt tried different looks on Thomas, primarily using Iman Shumpert and Irving as on-ball defenders. Neither had much success, as Thomas used his quick first step to get by the Cavaliers' backcourt before finishing among the trees inside. He did an excellent job of angling his body to create contact and get to the free-throw line as well.

Blatt needs to keep Shumpert, the Cavs' best perimeter defender, on Thomas throughout the series. Cleveland's center duo of Timofey Mozgov and Tristan Thompson must be aware of his drives and help out when needed.

The Cavaliers don't need to completely shut Thomas down, but they'll need to keep his offense in check and force other Celtics to score.

Postseason Rotation Looks Very Similar

Tony Dejak/Associated Press

Most NBA teams choose to tighten up their rotations come playoff time, increasing their stars' workloads while sitting previously used role players.

Blatt decided not to follow this trend.

By all accounts, the Cavaliers' rotation remained the same. While it was a no-brainer to go with James, Irving, Love, Mozgov and J.R. Smith in the starting lineup, the reserves saw little-to-no decrease in their playing time.

Since the early-January trades, Cleveland has rolled with the same starting five while giving ample playing time to Shumpert, Thompson and Matthew Dellavedova off the bench. James Jones became a regular contributor for Blatt around the All-Star break, with Kendrick Perkins and Shawn Marion sneaking in some occasional court time as well.

Blatt loves to include a stretch 4 in his lineups, be it Love, James or even Jones in this role. While some coaches may have cut the 34-year-old Jones out of the rotation and split his minutes between the former two, Blatt chose to ride with his veteran shooter.

The only surprises were Mozgov's 22 minutes, despite his size advantage over Celtics center Tyler Zeller, and Dellavedova's time being reduced to under nine ticks.

Blatt continued to go nine deep in his rotation, something other coaches would have preferred to trim.

Kevin Love Gets Tough

Mark Duncan/Associated Press

Love struggled to get going in his playoff debut, connecting on just two of 11 shots in the first half. He lost the ball on multiple occasions, either by mishandling or by watching an opponent knock it away.

For someone who's spent seven years trying to reach the postseason, this was a disappointing start.

To Love's credit, he responded in a big way. He made all three second-half shots to finish with 19 points. Only four of his 14 total attempts came from three-point range. Instead, Love showed more determination in the post than he had for weeks at a time in the regular season. His hard work earned him a team-high eight attempts from the free-throw line, on which he connected seven times.

Love also led the Cavs in rebounding with 12, was second with four assists and registered a plus-15 rating, also a Cleveland best. James spoke to Bleacher Report's Ethan Skolnick about Love following the game:

"

Even with Kev’s shot not falling early, I felt it was just the rhythm that he was in, the aggressiveness that he was in, would pay off later for us. And he turned it around in the second half. He was very aggressive, getting the ball where he wanted, getting the touches where he wanted. When Kev shoots eight free throws, that lets me know he’s very aggressive.

"

Love faces friendly matchups throughout the series with Brandon Bass and Jared Sullinger, two bigs with limited mobility who don't rebound at high rates.

Cleveland may not necessarily need Love to beat the Celtics, but his presence will definitely be required at some point during this postseason. It was a great sign for the Cavaliers that Love was aggressive and could rebound from a slow start already—in Game 1.

LeBron James Looked a Little Sluggish

Tony Dejak/Associated Press

This may be perceived as a weird statement to write, given James' final stat line.

After all, he finished the game with 20 points while recording six rebounds and a team-best seven assists. Even though most NBA players could only dream of putting up these numbers during the playoffs, something about James didn't look right.

He seemed to have difficulty beating Celtics defenders off the dribble, often throwing a bailout pass at the last second to avoid a traveling violation. These desperation passes, combined with some poor ball-handling, added up to five turnovers. The rest of the Cavaliers registered just seven combined.

James shot 8-of-18 from the field (44.4 percent) and 1-of-3 from deep (33.3 percent). He looked very early-seasonish, pressing at times while looking sluggish at others.

There's certainly no need for alarm, at least not yet. This was, after all, James' first playoff appearance for the Cavaliers in nearly five years. Cleveland has done an excellent job resting him over the past week, so part of his play may have been rhythm-related as well.

The Cavs need a second-half-of-the-season James if they expect to have any chance at a championship. Despite a solid first game, there's a little concern for James moving forward.

Greg Swartz has covered the Cleveland Cavaliers and NBA for Bleacher Report since 2010.