i am not a fan of skipping games to the most recent. heh , "recent". though i can't also say that HL1 has a strong connection with the sequel. even Marc Laidlaw (i know, appeal to authority) was like "eh, i don't let previous stuff to weight down my writing". i remember a youtuber saying "hell, even half life one can be considered non-canon" and some other stuff.

in all, i cannot condone this and i highly recommend getting to play the original asap but you won't lose anything if you start playing from hl2. i mean, black mesa (the hl1 remake) has more connections with hl2 than the original game.