The Cleveland Cavaliers will face the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Thursday night. The game will be held at the TD Garden in Boston with an 8:30 p.m. start time on TNT. The Cavaliers lead the series 3-1 thanks to a 112-99 win behind Kyrie Irving’s 42 points on Tuesday night at Quicken Loans Arena. If Cleveland comes out victorious then they will be in their 3rd straight NBA Finals. The Cavaliers should by all means win Game 5 because they are the better team, but if they don’t it could create some unwanted drama.

Kyrie Irving’s injury

Kyrie Irving was on a roll in Game 4 with 21 point alone in the third quarter to lead the Cavaliers to a comeback win against Boston. The win might have come at a cost, though. Irving twisted his ankle on a driving layup in the third quarter. Irving was able to get up and shake it off, but after the game he was seen limping just a bit. The injury might not be as serious as some have speculated, but there would be definite concern if he re-injures it.

The chances are pretty high that he could injure it again and it could be even worse than the first time. A prime example would be the injury to Kawhi Leonard. Leonard only had a couple days to recover from hurting his ankle against the Rockets which was not enough time for it to heal completely.

He re-injured it in Game 1 against the Warriors and was never seen in the series again. The Cavaliers should have this in the back of their minds because if he does get hurt again it could ruin their NBA Finals chances.

Rest for LeBron James

If the Cavaliers win Thursday night in Game 5 then they will have a week off until they meet the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

If they don’t win and have to play game 6 or even 7 then it might derail the Cavaliers' chances of winning the title. Rest for LeBron James has been the key to success for Cleveland because of the amount of minutes and mileage he has on his body. If the Cavaliers don’t win Game 5 then it could be interesting to see how Cleveland moves forward.

Hypothetically, having a Game 6 would not be bad, as the Cavaliers would have at least 5 days to rest and prepare for the Warriors. If the series goes a full 7 games though, it might cause some serious concern on the part of Cleveland fans. The Cavaliers would only have 3 days to rest and one of those days, they would have to travel. That would not be ideal for LeBron, as the Cavaliers will need everyone to be at full strength to have a shot at repeating as champions.