NBA Standings shake-up: LeBron’s Lakers surge as Tatum’s Celtics, Curry’s Warriors tighten playoff race
04.02.2026 - 21:01:44
The NBA standings took another twist in the last 24 hours as LeBron James dragged the Lakers deeper into the Western playoff hunt, Jayson Tatum kept the Celtics cruising at the top of the East, and Stephen Curry’s Warriors clawed to stay in that brutal West playoff picture. It felt like mid-April, not regular season: high-intensity defense, playoff-level crowd noise, and stars deciding games in crunchtime.
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LeBron sets the tone, Lakers keep pushing toward the top eight
LeBron James did exactly what the Lakers needed: control the tempo, punish mismatches, and close the door late. In a statement-type performance, he filled the box score with an all-around line that looked straight out of his prime, stacking points, boards, and playmaking touches while picking his spots from downtown. The Lakers’ offense clicked when he orchestrated from the high post and forced switches that LA relentlessly attacked.
Anthony Davis backed him with classic two-way impact, anchoring the defense at the rim and cleaning the glass for a big double-double. The Lakers’ half-court sets leaned into Davis as a screener and short-roll playmaker, and the result was a steady diet of open threes and backdoor cuts. In crunchtime, LeBron flattened the defense, spread shooters to the corners, and went into bully-ball mode. The opposing coach summed it up afterward: James “controlled every critical possession.”
On the perimeter, the Lakers’ role players did the dirty work. They picked up full court at times, chased shooters off the line, and turned live-ball turnovers into easy transition buckets. That effort showed up in the plus/minus column, even if the counting stats were modest. In a Western Conference where one bad week can send you tumbling toward the Play-In, this was the kind of businesslike win LA simply cannot afford to miss.
Celtics stabilize at the top as Tatum and Brown keep humming
On the other side of the league, the Boston Celtics looked every bit like a top seed, riding another efficient night from Jayson Tatum. He didn’t have to go for 50; instead, he delivered a surgical, balanced game: high-20s in points on strong shooting splits, added boards, and secondary playmaking. Tatum shredded mismatches, especially when smaller defenders were switched onto him in isolation sets along the wing.
Jaylen Brown brought the downhill pressure, attacking the paint early and forcing the defense to collapse. His drives opened up kick-outs to Boston’s shooters, and once the Celtics found rhythm from three, the game started to feel like a routine TD Garden dismantling. The defense locked in during the second and third quarters, holding their opponent to long droughts and forcing contested looks late in the shot clock.
Postgame, Boston’s locker room tone was calm and almost bored with success. The message: this is the standard. When you look at the current NBA standings, the Celtics have put real distance between themselves and the chasing pack in the East. Nights like this, where they look in total control without even hitting their absolute ceiling, are exactly why their playoff picture looks so bright.
Curry’s Warriors walk the tightrope in the West
For Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors, nothing is coming easy this season. The latest outing was another tense watch, with Curry carrying a massive scoring load and firing from deep just to keep Golden State attached to the game. Defenders trailed him through mazes of screens, but he still shook loose for step-back threes and off-the-dribble pull-ups that kept the building buzzing.
The Warriors’ margin for error in the West is razor-thin. Every missed rotation, every careless turnover threatens to swing both the game and the seeding. When Curry sat, the offense bogged down at times, highlighting how dependent they remain on his gravity. Yet, the defensive effort and contributions from younger role players have kept them hovering inside that Play-In corridor.
Head coach Steve Kerr’s postgame comments drove it home: Golden State has no time to coast. Their spot in the playoff picture is anything but secure, but as long as Curry is healthy and putting up elite player stats, nobody is eager to see them in a win-or-go-home scenario.
Snapshot: How the NBA standings look at the top
With the latest results locked in, the top of both conferences is starting to show tiers: clear contenders, hard-closing chasers, and teams living on the Play-In edge. Here is a compact look at the current NBA standings snapshot for the top of each conference.
| East Rank | Team | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston Celtics | Current top record in East |
| 2 | Milwaukee Bucks | Within striking distance |
| 3 | Philadelphia 76ers | Firmly in home-court mix |
| 4 | New York Knicks | Climbing with strong form |
| 5 | Cleveland Cavaliers | Locked into playoff tier |
| West Rank | Team | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denver Nuggets | Holding top seed pace |
| 2 | Minnesota Timberwolves | Elite defense, top-tier record |
| 3 | Oklahoma City Thunder | Young, surging, near the top |
| 4 | LA Clippers | In solid home-court slot |
| 5 | Dallas Mavericks | Firmly in playoff tier |
Behind these top groups, the Play-In scramble is where the real chaos lives: the Lakers, Warriors, and a cluster of Western teams are separated by only a handful of games. One three-game win streak can catapult you into safety; one bad week can send you spiraling into must-win territory.
Playoff picture: who is safe and who is on the bubble?
In the East, the Celtics, Bucks, and 76ers look like near-locks for top-six seeds. Their net ratings, depth, and consistency suggest that even a rough patch will not completely derail them. The Knicks and Cavaliers are in that second tier: likely playoff teams, but not immune to slippage if injuries or schedule crunches hit at the wrong time.
The middle and lower East is all about volatility. Two or three teams are fighting not just for home-court, but for their playoff lives. A late hot streak could mean sneaking into a sixth seed; a cold week could mean staring down a single-elimination Play-In game on the road.
Out West, Denver, Minnesota, and Oklahoma City have built enough cushion that barring a major injury, they should sit comfortably at or near the top. The Clippers and Mavericks round out the current core playoff tier. Below that, the Lakers, Warriors, and others are bouncing between eighth and twelfth on almost a nightly basis, with tiebreakers and head-to-head results looming large.
Every game now feels like a mini playoff test. Coaches are tightening rotations, star minutes are creeping up, and you can feel the urgency in every late possession. The slightest misstep can turn a potential six-seed into a must-win road Play-In game.
MVP race spotlight: Jokic, Giannis, Tatum, Luka and the ever-present LeBron
The MVP race has a familiar shape, but the nightly swings are wild. Nikola Jokic remains the advanced-metric darling, piling up triple-doubles and dictating every Denver possession with incomprehensible ease. His player stats routinely sit in the high-20s for points, double-digit rebounds, and near double-digit assists on elite efficiency. When the Nuggets win, it is usually because Jokic solved the game like a puzzle.
Giannis Antetokounmpo continues to batter defenses in the paint. He is living at the rim, generating free throws, and stacking 30-plus point nights with ease. When his supporting cast hits their shots, Milwaukee looks like an offensive juggernaut. The Bucks’ place near the top of the East keeps Giannis’ candidacy very real.
Jayson Tatum’s case rests on winning: Boston has the best record in the East, and he is the two-way star driving it. He may not lead the league in raw scoring, but his combination of volume, efficiency, and defense at the wing spot is why coaches and scouts routinely mention him in that top tier of MVP chatter.
Then there is Luka Doncic, whose usage and production remain absurd. On any given night he can drop 35 points on high volume, flirt with a triple-double, and orchestrate every possession. The Mavericks’ placement in the NBA standings will likely determine how serious his MVP push becomes down the stretch.
And hovering around the edge of the conversation, LeBron James is still forcing everyone to reconsider what is possible in Year 21. While the raw scoring and minutes might trend slightly below his peak, his impact in big moments, his efficiency from three, and his command in late-game offense keep him in the narrative if the Lakers keep climbing.
Injury notes, depth tests and who is trending up or down
The last 24 to 48 hours have also been about survival. Several playoff hopefuls have been juggling injury concerns: stars listed as questionable with minor nagging issues, key role players missing time, and coaches forced to experiment with new lineups.
For contenders, these stretches are about maintaining seeding without burning out their top guys. That means more responsibility for bench scorers, backup ball-handlers, and young wings who suddenly find themselves closing games. Some have answered the bell with career nights, flirting with triple-doubles or posting new career-highs in points or rebounds.
Others have struggled. A few high-usage guards have hit cold spells from three, dragging their true shooting percentages down and stalling otherwise solid offensive systems. Coaches have not minced words postgame, calling out lack of focus, slow rotations, and poor transition defense as the culprits.
Every injury tweak and every slump matters against the backdrop of these tight standings. A single missed week for a star can easily cost two or three wins, which in this year’s playoff picture is the difference between hosting Game 1 and facing sudden death in the Play-In.
What to watch next: statement games incoming
The upcoming slate features exactly the kind of matchups that can swing the NBA standings and the MVP race in one night. Top East contenders will collide, giving us direct head-to-head looks at how Tatum and Giannis stack up when the game slows down and every possession feels like May. Out West, the Lakers and Warriors both face brutal stretches where they see multiple playoff-level opponents in less than a week.
Those are must-watch games for anyone tracking the playoff picture, MVP race, or simply looking for elite-level drama. The margins are so tight that one signature win, one monster 40-point, 15-rebound, 10-assist performance, or one road upset could reshape the conversation around seeding and awards.
For fans, this is the time to lock in: check live scores, follow box scores in real time, and keep one eye on the injury reports. The NBA standings are going to keep shifting, and the only safe bet is that the race will stay wild right up until the final week.
