East standings are getting a little too close for comfort for the Celtics, but does it really matter?

BOSTON -- There has been a lot to worry about with the Celtics over the last month. Their lackluster play, along with an incredible winning streak by the Bucks, has all but cost Boston the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. 

Now the No. 2 seed could be in jeopardy, with the Celtics set to begin a difficult final stretch run of the season. It's slightly concerning... but will it really matter when it's all said and done? Maybe not.

But before that dose of positivity, let's discuss how we've gotten here. The Bucks were victorious again on Tuesday night, winning for the 18th time in their last 19 games, to take a 2.5-game lead over the Celtics for the top spot in the East. The Celtics and the Bucks will meet for one final time in the regular season on March 30, which could be Boston's last chance at reclaiming the top seed in the conference.

The Philadelphia 76ers also won again Tuesday as well, their third straight and seventh win in their last 10 games, and are now just 1.5 games behind the Celtics for the No. 2 seed. So the Celtics are waking up Wednesday morning closer to the three-seed than the one-seed.

As you may have been hit over the head with a few times in the last 24 hours, the Celtics have lost three straight and four of their last five. They are just 10-9 since January 23.

It's been uncomfortable for the Celtics for a while, but looking at the standings today will really make you squirm in your seat. At least Boston can rest on its laurels of owning the tiebreaker over Philadelphia, taking all three season meetings against its divisional foe with one more on tap on April 4.

That should give the Celtics the No. 2 seed, barring a complete and total collapse over the final 16 games of the regular season. And the C's are 4.5 games up on the four-seeded Cavaliers -- a team that does own the tiebreaker over Boston -- so unless things go really, really, really south, the Celtics should fall no further than the three-spot in the East.

But to avoid any further tumble in the standings, the Celtics need to start winning games. After hosting the Portland Trail Blazers (a team fighting for their postseason lives in the West) Boston will embark on a six-game road trip that brings the team to Atlanta (the eight-seed in the East), Houston, Minnesota (the seven-seed in the West), Portland, Utah (a team like the Blazers, fighting for a play-in spot out West), and Sacramento. If you think a tilt against the Kings is a soft landing to end the trip, you haven't been paying attention; the Kings currently occupy the two-seed in the Western Conference.

Boston really cannot afford any missteps, at least not until they re-establish themselves and afford themselves a little more cushion in the standings.

"We really need to win this game against Portland so we can leave Boston on a positive note, starting this road trip," Malcolm Brogdon said after Monday night's crushing overtime loss in Cleveland. "These are six teams on the road that we should beat, that we need to beat. It's really that simple. Going undefeated is the goal and the expectation."

That is a lofty expectation, especially given how the Celtics have played lately. But it's a necessity if they want to remain in the hunt for the 1-seed.

And the schedule won't get any easier, either. Road matchups with the Bucks (March 30) and the 76ers await in the second-to-last week of the regular season. Boston will play six current play-in teams over the final month, plus another five against teams just on the outside of the tournament. All of those teams will be looking to win as much as possible to close the season.

The Celtics, meanwhile, may put a bigger premium on staying healthy and getting the likes of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown some rest ahead of the playoffs. That could, in turn, end up costing them in the standings.

Back to the big question though: Will seeding ultimately matter? Maybe not. Falling to the three-seed would currently set up a first-round meeting with the new-look Nets, who are 2.5 games up on the Miami Heat. While the Nets embarrassed the C's with a 28-point comeback win in Boston last week, a focused Celtics team in the playoffs should be able to easily handle them in the opening round. The 76ers would await in the second round, and the Celtics have had zero issue with Philly over the last few years.

(Still, home-court advantage against the 76ers would make things a lot more comfortable for everyone involved.)

The one-seed does indeed matter, since a deciding Game 7 against the Bucks in Milwaukee is a lot different than a deciding Game 7 against the Bucks in Boston. But if the C's don't have a shot at that come March 30, they may settle into life as the two- or three-seed and focus on being healthy and rested for the playoffs.

This is all assuming the Celtics get their act together over the next month, which fans and pundits are seriously questioning at the moment. However, those inside the locker room feel a lot better about the situation than those on the outside.

"We're going to bond together. We're a tight-knit group and I'm not too worried about it," Derrick White said at his community event on Tuesday. "We're going to find a way to come together and get out of this little rut."

We applaud the confidence. Now we just need to see the Celtics execute that plan over the next four-plus weeks and beyond.