Celtics playoff picture: Crucial March stretch could make or break C's

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They say March comes in like a lion, but the Boston Celtics are limping out of February as lambs.

The Celtics turn the calendar to March 1 riding their longest losing streak of the season, a four-game skid that capped a 5-6 month of February.

Boston's preseason dreams of a top-two Eastern Conference seed appear dashed; the C's are 10.5 games behind the Milwaukee Bucks and eight games behind the Toronto Raptors with just 20 games remaining.

There's no time to sulk, however. The Celtics still are in a fierce battle for playoff seeds No. 3 through No. 5 entering arguably their toughest stretch of the season.

Here's a look at where things stand entering Friday:

No. 3: Indiana Pacers -- 41-22
No. 4: Philadelphia 76ers -- 40-22 (0.5 games back)
No. 5: Boston Celtics -- 37-25, (3.5 games back)
No. 6: Brooklyn Nets -- 32-31 (9 games back)

The C's need to make up three games over the next month and a half if they want home court in the playoffs, and it won't be easy.

Boston will play seven of its next 10 games against teams with winning records: the Houston Rockets, Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings (twice), Los Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets and Philadelphia 76ers. Five of those 10 matchups are on the road, including a rematch with a Los Angeles Lakers team that's under .500 but beat the C's at the buzzer in early February.

In fact, the Celtics have the seventh-toughest remaining schedule in the East, as their opponents own a combined winning percentage of .512, per Tankathon.com.

How do the remaining schedules of the Pacers and Sixers compare? It's a mixed bag.

Remaining opponent winning percentage

Pacers: .542 (2nd-toughest in East)
Celtics: .512 (7th-toughest in East)
Sixers: .478 (25th-toughest in East)

Indiana has to play Milwaukee, Philly, Denver, Portland, Golden State, and Oklahoma State all on the road over the next two-plus weeks. In theory, the Victor Oladipo-less Pacers should get knocked down a few pegs.

But the Sixers very well could slide up into the No. 3 seed, as eight of their final 10 games of the regular season are against sub-.500 teams.

Recent history suggests the Celtics would benefit greatly from home-court advantage in the first round. But they'll need to transform quickly into lions if they want to accomplish that goal, starting Friday night against the Washington Wizards.

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