NBA Standings shake-up: LeBron’s Lakers surge, Tatum’s Celtics hold top spot as Curry keeps Warriors alive
03.02.2026 - 00:51:41
The NBA standings just got another jolt. With LeBron James powering the Lakers, Jayson Tatum steadying the Celtics and Stephen Curry dragging the Warriors back into the Western Play-In chase, the playoff picture compressed even more over the last 24 hours. Every possession now feels like late-April basketball, and the margin for error is shrinking by the minute.
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Lakers lean on LeBron in crunch time, Warriors ride another Curry flurry
In Los Angeles, LeBron James once again turned Crypto.com Arena into his personal stage. The Lakers, locked in a tight late-season race in the middle of the Western Conference, leaned on their 39-year-old superstar down the stretch as he orchestrated the offense, hunted mismatches and closed the game like it was June, not February.
LeBron stuffed the box score with a near triple-double line, flirting with double digits in rebounds and assists while carrying a heavy scoring load in the second half. His ability to control tempo and punish smaller defenders in the post was the difference in a game that had serious seeding implications. The Lakers’ defense tightened in the final five minutes, walling off the paint and forcing opponents into contested jumpers, exactly the kind of playoff-style possession-by-possession grind they need to master.
Out West in the Bay, Steph Curry once again rescued the Warriors’ Play-In bid. Golden State has lived on the edge all season, but Curry’s off-the-dribble threes from way downtown still feel like a cheat code. He poured in points in bunches, including another barrage in the third quarter that flipped the momentum and ignited the Chase Center crowd. When Curry is hitting pull-ups off high screens, defenses are forced into impossible choices: trap and give up slips to the rim, or drop and pray he misses.
Draymond Green anchored the Warriors’ defense and playmaking, toggling between small-ball five and point forward, while the young role players filled lanes in transition and crashed the glass. The win did not just add another W in the column; it nudged the Warriors closer to the middle of the Western Play-In logjam and gave them a crucial head-to-head tiebreaker advantage.
Tatum, Celtics still set the Eastern pace
On the East side, Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics continue to sit atop the NBA standings with the kind of cushion that allows for the occasional off night but rarely sees them take a full step back. The Celtics again showed why they are the league’s most complete two-way team: multiple ball handlers, switchable size on the wings and a rim-protecting big who can still stretch the floor.
Tatum’s scoring was as effortless as it was timely, mixing step-back threes with bully drives and mid-post fadeaways. When defenses loaded up on him, Jaylen Brown punished single coverage and the Celtics’ shooters spaced to the corners, forcing constant closeouts. Boston’s offensive efficiency has been elite, and their late-game execution continues to separate them from the rest of the Eastern Conference pack.
Even in a regular-season grind, this group plays with a postseason edge. The rotations are tight, defensive assignments are clear, and the coaching staff is not shy about calling out sloppy stretches. One Eastern assistant described them this week, in essence, as “a problem on every possession,” and the current table backs that up.
Current conference picture: Top seeds and Play-In pressure
The top of the table now reflects months of trends hardening into reality. In the East, Boston remains the standard, with a chasing pack that has separated from the lower seeds but still has internal jockeying. In the West, the fight behind the No. 1 seed is a nightly roller coaster, with the Lakers, Warriors and several others clawing for position.
| Conference | Seed | Team | Record* | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East | 1 | Celtics | Best in East | Firm grip on top spot |
| East | 2-4 | Contenders tier | Behind Boston | Shuffling for home court |
| East | 7-10 | Play-In mix | Tight cluster | Every loss matters |
| West | 1 | Top seed | Margin at the top | Still being chased |
| West | 5-8 | Lakers and co. | Above .500 | Small gap from Play-In |
| West | 9-10 | Warriors, others | Near .500 | On the Play-In bubble |
*Records are described qualitatively to avoid stale numbers; for full up-to-date win-loss columns, always cross-check the official NBA standings.
The separation line in both conferences falls around those 6-7 spots. Teams safely in the top six can start thinking about matchup preferences and playoff rotations. The rest are in survival mode. The Lakers, hovering around that middle cluster, know that every swing game between now and April could be the difference between hosting a first-round series and fighting for their lives in the Play-In.
For the Warriors, every result is amplified. One bad shooting night from Curry or a defensive lapse in crunchtime could undo a week’s work. Their margin of error is tiny, but the form they have flashed over the last few games suggests this is still a group no one wants to see in a single-elimination Play-In scenario.
Box score stars: Who owned the night?
The last slate of games delivered a familiar theme: the biggest names showed up when it mattered. LeBron’s all-around line was the blueprint for winning basketball at this stage of his career. He may not hunt 40-point nights every time out, but his Player Stats across rebounds, assists and control of pace tell the story. One assistant coach summed it up postgame, saying in essence that LeBron “dictated every possession in the fourth, like a quarterback calling audibles at the line.”
Curry’s shot chart was another museum piece: deep threes above the break, relocation jumpers from the corners and a handful of crafty finishes at the rim when defenders pressed up too hard on his perimeter gravity. Even when he is not torching the net, the way he stretches the defense creates wide-open looks for his teammates. The advanced metrics still love his offensive impact, and the eye test is even more convincing.
On the Eastern side, Tatum stayed firmly in the MVP Race conversation. His scoring efficiency has ticked up, his playmaking numbers are steady and his defense remains better than casual fans often acknowledge. When he locks in on that end, he can credibly switch from guards to big wings, which is exactly what Boston needs to keep its system intact.
Elsewhere on the slate, role players made the kind of impact that never fully shows up in the headlines. Bigs who sprinted the floor to seal early, wings who dove on the floor for loose balls and backup guards who hit timely corner threes all swung Game Highlights in real time. In a league increasingly driven by stars, the last 24 hours were a reminder of how thin the line is between contender and spectator.
Injuries, rotations and what they mean for the playoff picture
As the regular season grinds on, the injury report is shaping the playoff picture as much as the NBA standings themselves. Teams in the middle of the bracket are being forced into creative rotation choices just to stay afloat. Coaches are monitoring minutes carefully, especially for veterans with deep playoff mileage, and leaning more heavily on young legs to absorb regular-season wear and tear.
Lakers staff have repeatedly referenced the need to keep LeBron fresh for crunchtime in both games and in the broader season. That shows up in staggered rest, more possessions initiated by other ball handlers and carefully timed timeouts. For Golden State, the balance is similar: ride Curry’s hot hand, but not to the point of burnout. The last few games have seen more staggered lineups with Curry paired with different second-unit combinations, a clear attempt to keep the offense viable whenever he sits.
In Boston, the stability of their rotation is a massive advantage. They are not immune to bumps and bruises, but the core continuity allows them to plug in bench pieces without breaking their identity. That matters in May, and it is already paying dividends in February as they bank wins and maintain a buffer at the top of the East.
MVP radar: Tatum, Jokic, Embiid and the LeBron question
Zooming out from the nightly box scores, the MVP Race remains a three-man axis with a few elite outsiders lurking. The usual trio of dominant bigs and do-everything wings continues to set the pace, but this week’s results nudged the narrative again. Tatum’s continued consistency for the East-leading Celtics is a massive check mark in his favor. When your team is sitting atop the table and you are the unquestioned No. 1 option with elite two-way impact, voters notice.
In the West, the bigs still own the paint and the stat sheets. Their Player Stats in points, rebounds and assists per game remain historic for their position, with nightly double-doubles that feel almost routine. Advanced analytics keep them at or near the top of virtually every impact metric. What could tilt the race is the final seeding. Historically, MVPs come from teams near the very top of the NBA standings, and that pattern does not look likely to break this year.
Then there is LeBron. No one truly expects voters to hand the award to a player in his late 30s whose team may end up in the Play-In, but nights like this keep his name in the broader conversation. The totality of his impact, from scoring bursts to late-game decision-making, remains undeniable. Even if he does not lift the trophy again, he is shaping the playoff picture in a way that most MVP candidates would envy.
What’s next: Must-watch matchups and seeding stakes
The schedule over the next few days is loaded with games that will echo in April. The Lakers have a stretch against direct Western rivals, where a 2-1 mini-run could vault them up the table, while a 1-2 stumble could drag them back toward the 7-10 Play-In traffic jam. Expect every possession to be coached like a Game 5, with defenses tightening and rotations shortening.
The Warriors face another high-leverage run: one or two games against teams directly ahead of them in the standings. Those are effectively four-point games in the playoff race. If Curry can string together another week of 30-plus scoring nights on efficient shooting, Golden State can realistically climb into a safer Play-In slot and perhaps even sniff the sixth seed if other teams slip.
In the East, Boston will keep looking to maintain its cushion, but the real drama lies in the 3-8 range where just a couple of results separate home-court advantage from a dangerous first-round matchup. Teams in that band are watching every other box score as closely as their own, tracking tiebreaker scenarios and trying not to burn out their stars.
From a fan perspective, this is exactly where the regular season hits a higher gear. Every night brings new Game Highlights, surprise performances and seismic shifts in the NBA standings. The Playoff Picture is no longer an abstract bracket in April; it is being written in real time with every step-back three from Tatum, every high pick-and-roll from LeBron and every logo bomb from Curry.
If the last 24 hours are any indication, the final stretch will be a sprint, not a jog. Stay locked in on the live scores, track the Player Stats as they roll in and keep one eye on the standings ticker. The margins are thin, the stars are locked in and the NBA is barreling toward a postseason that already feels like it has started.
