Celtics, Cavaliers in unfamiliar roles as showdown looms

The change at the top of the Eastern Conference standings has left both the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers in unfamiliar roles.When the Celtics overtook the Cavaliers a few days ago, it marked the first time they held first place in the East since March 22, 2011, when Shaquille O’Neal - now in the Hall of Fame - was still playing and wearing green.Shifting from hunter to hunted is a novel experience for this group of Celtics (49-27), who are recognizing the accompanying pressure that comes with it.“This time it’s like teams are chasing us. Me and Jae (Crowder) were talking about it,” Celtics All-Star guard Isaiah Thomas said.“Usually we’re the team that’s going after other teams. And it feels like now teams are just ready to play us from the jump.” Crowder said: “You can definitely feel it. You can definitely tell.” Conversely, the Cavaliers (48-27) are looking up in the East for the first time in two seasons after going 7-10 in March.Superstar LeBron James - who has played in the NBA Finals in each of the last six years - isn’t going to dwell on what went wrong.“I’m never a guy to look back,” James said. “No reason. Push forward. The past is the past. We’ve got to focus on the present and that’s what we’re going to do.”The change took place rather quickly.Even after a 103-99 win over Cleveland on March 1, Boston still trailed by four games in the loss column.But the Celtics have won five of their last six games while the Cavs have lost four of six, prompting a players-only meeting earlier this week.“Our on-the-court chemistry took a hit. Our camaraderie didn’t,” explained James, one of the great leaders in NBA history. “At the end of the day, we have to fix it and we’re here to fix it.” The repairs started with Saturday’s home win over Philadelphia, a step in the right direction as Cleveland prepares for Wednesday’s visit to Boston that likely will decide which team has home court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs.If the Celtics win, they will widen their lead while enjoying the easier remaining schedule.If the Cavaliers win, they will hold the tiebreaker.The top seed would host Game 7 in a potential conference finals matchup, but Thomas said the Celtics are not caught up in that.“We don’t really talk about the playoffs,” he said. “We don’t really talk about standings or first place.” Meanwhile, James doesn’t sound too concerned with his team’s current schedule predicament, either.“As we continue to get our guys healthy and we continue to get back into the flow of things, we’ll figure it out,” he said.