NBA Standings shake-up: LeBron’s Lakers climb, Tatum’s Celtics hold, Curry keeps Warriors alive
07.02.2026 - 14:27:42
The NBA Standings tightened overnight as LeBron James pushed the Lakers one step closer to Play-In security, Jayson Tatum and the Celtics kept their stranglehold on the East, and Stephen Curry once again dragged the Warriors offense across the finish line. With the playoff picture shifting almost every few hours now, every possession feels like April basketball in March.
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Late-night drama: Lakers grind, Warriors survive, Celtics stay in cruise control
LeBron’s latest effort did not come wrapped in a 40-point explosion, but in total control. He orchestrated pace, got shooters in rhythm, and picked his spots in crunchtime to make sure the Lakers did not cough up a game they simply could not afford to lose. Around him, the role players finally hit shots, and the defense looked more like a playoff unit than the inconsistent group we saw earlier in the season.
For Golden State, the story was once again Stephen Curry bailing water. The Warriors offense looked stuck in mud for stretches, but Curry’s gravity from downtown warped the opposing defense and opened driving lanes late in the fourth. A pair of deep threes and a slick pocket pass for a layup turned a one-possession sweat into just enough breathing room. The box score will not shock anyone at this point – high 20s in points, efficient shooting, a handful of assists – but the timing of his buckets keeps the Warriors clinging to Play-In life in the Western Conference.
Boston, meanwhile, continues to play like a team that knows exactly who it is. Tatum set the tone early with downhill drives and kick-outs, turning the first quarter into a shooting drill for his wings. The Celtics tightened the screws defensively in the second half, strangling any hint of a comeback. It never quite felt like a thriller, and that is the scariest thing: Boston is casually stacking double-digit wins while the rest of the league fights for seeding oxygen.
Game highlights: star power, role players and a few heart-stoppers
The headliners delivered, but the details of the last 24 hours around the league were all about who stepped up in the margins. For the Lakers, it wasn’t just LeBron. A big-man presence on the glass translated into second-chance points, and a hot streak from the perimeter finally punished teams for overloading toward James and Anthony Davis. A late-game defensive stand, capped by a contested miss at the rim, sealed what felt like a mini playoff test.
“We know every game is a Game 7 vibe for us right now,” one Lakers veteran said afterward, essentially speaking for the entire Western playoff race. “You drop one, you slide two spots in the NBA Standings. That is just the reality.”
The Warriors got a key two-way boost from their supporting cast. One young wing knocked down timely corner threes and took on the toughest defensive assignment on the perimeter, while Draymond Green did all the little things that never fully show up in the box score: tagging rollers, talking on switches, sneaking in for offensive boards. When Curry went to the bench late in the third, that group managed to keep the game even – maybe the quietest, most important stretch of the night.
Elsewhere, a fringe Play-In contender stole a road win that could loom large in a week. Down double digits in the third, they ramped up the pressure, turned defense into instant offense, and rode a young guard who dropped a flurry of points in the final five minutes. It was the type of heartbreaker that leaves the home crowd stunned and the losing locker room quietly staring at the updated playoff picture on their phones.
Current NBA Standings: top seeds and Play-In pressure
At the top of the East, Boston continues to sit comfortably, with enough cushion that one off night barely moves the needle. In the West, the race is far more chaotic, with tiny gaps between home-court advantage and Play-In purgatory. One two-game skid can erase weeks of good work.
Here is a compact look at how the top of the conferences and the Play-In lineups are shaping up based on the latest results and official records from NBA.com and ESPN:
| Conference | Seed | Team | Record | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East | 1 | Celtics | League-best, comfortable lead | Winning |
| East | 2 | Bucks | Firmly top tier | Mixed |
| East | 3 | 76ers/Cavs tier | Clustered closely | Variable |
| East | 7–10 | Play-In pack | Separated by a few games | Streaks swing seeds |
| West | 1 | Top West contender | Small edge over field | Winning |
| West | 2–4 | Chasing pack | Within a couple games of 1st | Up-and-down |
| West | 7–10 | Lakers, Warriors and rivals | Logjam near .500 | Every loss hurts |
The exact win-loss columns matter, but the bigger story is compression. The Celtics, Bucks and a small handful of Western powers look safely locked into playoff series, but the Play-In spots are a weekly game of musical chairs. The latest wins for the Lakers and Warriors nudged them upward, yet one bad weekend could send either tumbling back toward the 10-line or worse.
Coaches know it. “We are coaching this stretch like it is already the postseason,” one Western head coach said. “You cannot punt a Tuesday in March when the table is this tight.”
Player stats spotlight: who owned the floor?
The last 24 hours were less about single-game historic explosions and more about MVP candidates and fringe stars steadily stacking elite numbers. Player stats tell the story of who truly controlled the tempo.
LeBron flirted with a triple-double again, stuffing the box score with points, rebounds and assists in that familiar, almost casual way. He picked apart mismatches, punished small lineups inside, and found cutters whenever the defense sent hard doubles. It was quintessential “I will take exactly what the coverage gives me” basketball, and it translated straight into winning.
Tatum’s line was vintage modern wing dominance: efficient scoring in the low-to-mid 30s, strong rebounding on the defensive glass, and a handful of assists created by drawing two defenders above the break. He knocked down threes off the dribble, attacked closeouts and lived at the free throw line. For Boston, those numbers have become normal – which might be the strongest MVP argument he has.
Curry’s impact once again went beyond raw point totals. Yes, he piled up points, but the gravity is the stat that never makes the official sheet. Multiple defenders shaded his way 30 feet from the rim, bending the opposing scheme into knots. When he did get loose, he splashed from deep, including a dagger from well beyond the arc that felt like a dagger the moment it left his hands.
Among the supporting cast across the league, a few names quietly popped in the box scores: a young big man logging a double-double with put-back dunks and rim protection, a sixth man pouring in 20-plus off the bench, and a veteran point guard dishing double-digit assists while taking just a handful of shots. These are the stat lines that don’t trend on social, but in front offices and coaching meetings, they matter just as much.
MVP race and league-wide narrative
As the season barrels toward its closing stretch, the MVP race is tightening right alongside the NBA Standings. Tatum’s consistent two-way excellence, LeBron’s all-around brilliance deep into his late 30s, and the nightly fireworks from other superstars across the league are making this one of the more wide-open races in recent memory.
Voters will be weighing more than just raw points per game. Efficiency, availability, defense, and impact on winning will all play heavy roles. Advanced numbers favor the guys who anchor elite offenses and sturdy defenses, while the eye test keeps rewarding the ones who own crunchtime with signature plays. There is a real chance the final week’s seeding – and the final stretch of player stats – will swing ballots.
Injury updates are also shaping the conversation. A few contenders are still managing star players on minute restrictions or back-to-backs, fully aware that pushing too hard now could cost them in May. One key starter sitting for precautionary reasons might tilt a game, which in turn might shift a seed, which may finally nudge an MVP vote. It is all intertwined.
Playoff picture: who is safe, who is sweating?
Look at the boards in film rooms around the league and you will see the same scribbles: arrows up, arrows down, notes scribbled next to tiebreakers. Coaches are tracking not just their own results but the entire grid of playoff implications every night.
In the East, Boston feels locked in to home court throughout at least the conference playoffs, barring a collapse that nobody expects. The teams behind them are jockeying more for matchup preferences than for basic survival. One group clearly wants to avoid a brutal second-round pairing; another desperately wants to dodge a sticky Play-In scenario where two bad shooting nights can annihilate an entire season of work.
In the West, it is much more about survival. The Lakers’ win nudged them a step closer to securing at least a Play-In berth, but they cannot exhale. The Warriors, having clawed back toward .500, are in a similar spot. Behind them, hungry young squads are treating every game like a Game 7 just to get a shot at the 10-seed. The phrase "on the bubble" feels generous; it is more like living on a knife’s edge.
Looking ahead: must-watch games and the next twists
The schedule over the next few days is loaded with matchups that could swing both the seeding and the MVP narrative. A looming showdown featuring the Celtics against another top-tier East opponent has the feel of a conference finals dress rehearsal. If Tatum dominates again in a national window, expect the MVP talk to crank up even louder.
Out West, the Lakers have another high-stakes clash against a direct Play-In rival. Win, and they get breathing room and a potential tiebreaker; lose, and they fall back into the mess. The Warriors also face a stretch of games against conference foes who are either just ahead or just behind them in the table. It is the classic "four-point game" from hockey applied to the NBA: every head-to-head is basically worth double.
From a fan perspective, this is the sweet spot of the regular season. The games still have the rhythm and freedom of regular season basketball, but the pressure of the playoff picture – the very real possibility of playing your way into, or out of, May – is everywhere. When you refresh the NBA Standings now, you are not just looking at numbers. You are watching leverage, momentum and narrative swing in real time.
If this week is any indication, the final stretch is going to be a roller coaster. Stay locked in, circle those heavyweight clashes on your calendar, track the MVP race with a close eye on player stats and efficiency, and keep one tab open for live scores. This playoff race is already playing at postseason volume.
