NBA Standings shocker: Celtics surge, LeBron’s Lakers slip while Curry keeps Warriors alive
05.02.2026 - 17:44:48
The NBA Standings got another jolt last night. In a slate that felt more like mid-April than early-season grind, Jayson Tatum pushed the Boston Celtics to another statement win, LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers dropped a winnable one that could haunt them down the stretch, and Stephen Curry once again hauled the Golden State Warriors back into the Western Conference Playoff picture almost single-handedly. The race at the top is tightening, the Play-In line is getting crowded, and every possession suddenly feels like it carries May implications.
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Last night’s headliners: Celtics flex, Lakers fade, Warriors survive
The Boston Celtics once again looked every bit like a No. 1 seed, dictating tempo and defense from the opening tip. Tatum poured in efficient buckets from all three levels, and their spacing left the opponent scrambling on closeouts. It was the kind of win that does not jump off the page as a classic, but on the film room tape it screams: this team knows exactly who it is.
The late-game execution stood out. Boston’s halfcourt offense leaned on Tatum in isolation, but the real damage came when he trusted his shooters. Kick-outs to the corners, swing-swing action to the weak side, and quick slips to the rim turned a tight third quarter into a comfortable cushion. On a night when the NBA Standings continue to show the East tightening in the middle, the Celtics looked like the one group that can afford a bad stretch and still stay on top.
On the opposite side of the emotional spectrum, LeBron’s Lakers let one slip. They had control early, dominating the glass and getting downhill in transition, but the offense stalled once the pace slowed. In the fourth quarter, possessions bogged down into late-clock step-back threes and forced drives into traffic. Even with LeBron still putting up near triple-double lines on most nights, the margin for error is razor-thin when the defense gives up wide-open looks from downtown.
Postgame, the tone from the Lakers locker room was telling. The coaching staff emphasized focus: too many empty trips, too many second-chance opportunities allowed. LeBron, by all accounts, kept it direct: they cannot expect to flip a switch in March if they are leaking wins in February. In a brutal West where the Play-In race is already fierce, every blown lead feels like a mini gut punch to their seeding hopes.
Then there is Steph Curry and the Warriors, still refusing to fade into the background. Golden State’s margin of error is even thinner than Los Angeles, but Curry put on another shooting clinic that lit up the box score and the crowd. Deep pull-ups in transition, off-ball movement that had defenders spinning, and a couple of vintage heat-checks from way beyond the arc anchored a crucial win that nudged them closer to the middle of the pack rather than the lottery zone.
What popped most was how much Curry still warps the entire floor. The defense sent hard traps and blitzes, but his gravity unlocked driving lanes for teammates and easy pocket passes for short-roll playmaking. That kind of offensive ecosystem is why, despite uneven results, nobody wants to see the Warriors in a single-elimination Play-In scenario.
How the NBA Standings look now: jostling for Playoffs and Play-In
The top of the Eastern Conference remains colored in Boston green, but the cushion is constantly under threat from a cluster of hungry contenders. In the West, there is almost no daylight between home-court hopefuls and the Play-In crowd. One win streak can launch a team; one bad week can sink it.
Here is a compact look at how the upper tier and the Play-In line are shaping up based on the latest results:
| Conference | Seed | Team | W | L | Games Back |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East | 1 | Boston Celtics | - | - | League-best |
| East | 2 | Milwaukee Bucks | - | - | Chasing Boston |
| East | 3 | Philadelphia 76ers | - | - | In striking distance |
| East | 7 | Miami Heat | - | - | Top of Play-In |
| East | 10 | Atlanta Hawks | - | - | Clinging to spot |
| West | 1 | Denver Nuggets | - | - | Holding serve |
| West | 3 | Oklahoma City Thunder | - | - | Young and fearless |
| West | 5 | Los Angeles Clippers | - | - | Firm Playoff tier |
| West | 9 | Los Angeles Lakers | - | - | Play-In danger |
| West | 10 | Golden State Warriors | - | - | Right on the bubble |
The exact win–loss lines shift night to night, but the themes are clear. Boston has carved out a bit of separation by stacking routine wins like last night’s. Denver, with Nikola Jokic orchestrating everything, continues to quietly run its race near the top of the West, rarely dropping back-to-back games. Behind them, upstarts like the Oklahoma City Thunder are no longer a feel-good story; they are a legitimate threat with a relentless defense and a superstar-level creator.
In the Play-In corridor, tension is sky-high. The Lakers and Warriors living at the edge of the Western bracket gives every game a playoff feel. A bad defensive quarter or a cold shooting night can be the difference between chasing the sixth seed and bracing for sudden-death basketball. For Miami and Atlanta in the East, inconsistency has turned them into nightly coin flips, and every blown coverage or missed rotation shows up not just in the film session, but on the standings page.
Player Stats spotlight: who owned the night?
Within the swirl of movement on the NBA Standings front, a few individual stat lines jumped off the box scores. Tatum once again carried Boston with a blend of scoring and playmaking, flirting with a high-efficiency line that any MVP candidate would gladly sign for. His shot selection was mature: early rim attacks, midrange only when the defense sagged, and threes mostly coming off rhythm catch-and-shoots or one-dribble pull-ups.
LeBron’s numbers, at first glance, looked strong as well. He filled every column, racking up points, rebounds, and assists in another near triple-double performance. But the context matters: some of the late buckets came while chasing the game, and a couple of turnovers in crunchtime stalled the comeback. It summed up the Lakers season so far: star-level production, but little room for mental lapses or sloppy possessions.
Curry’s line was everything Warriors fans have come to expect in high-stakes nights: heavy scoring, elite efficiency from downtown, and enough playmaking to keep the offense humming when defenses overcommitted. When he gets two or three clean looks early, you can feel the entire arena shift. Defenders start shading higher, help collapses a split-second earlier, and suddenly role players are getting easy looks they were not seeing a week ago. That is the quiet power behind the loud threes.
Among bigs, Jokic once again churned out a casual-looking double-double that would be a career highlight for most centers. The numbers are less about flash and more about control: high field-goal percentage, elite passing from the elbows, and minimal turnovers despite heavy usage. His Player Stats are practically a cheat code for Denver’s offense, allowing them to survive cold nights from the perimeter because they can always run a possession through their MVP-caliber hub.
MVP race snapshot: Tatum, Jokic, and the usual suspects
The MVP Race continues to be shaped not just by highlight plays, but by the steady grind of keeping your team on the winning side of the NBA Standings. Tatum has the classic narrative working in his favor: best player on the best team in the East, carrying a significant two-way load while putting up elite scoring splits. What helps him even more is the Celtics depth, which lets him conserve just enough energy to stay sharp in the fourth quarter.
Jokic, on the other hand, continues to put up box score lines that almost defy context. Night after night, he stacks high-scoring, high-assist double-doubles with an efficiency that makes advanced metrics glow. His presence keeps Denver near the top of the West, and every clutch-time possession runs through his hands, whether he is finishing at the rim, burying a soft floater, or hitting a cutter backdoor.
LeBron and Curry might not be leading the MVP Race on paper, largely because their teams are living in the Play-In zone, but their impact is undeniable. Without LeBron’s nightly production, the Lakers probably fall out of the race entirely. Without Curry’s shooting gravity, Golden State’s already shaky halfcourt offense might grind to a halt. The award may go elsewhere, but their value is impossible to miss when you watch the film instead of just scanning the numbers.
Behind that top tier, younger stars are knocking on the door. Guards driving elite offenses, wings putting together two-way seasons, and bigs anchoring defenses while stretching the floor from beyond the arc all have cases that will only grow if their teams climb a few spots in the standings. The MVP conversation this year is less about one runaway favorite and more about which star can marry big box scores with memorable wins in marquee moments.
Playoff picture, injuries, and what is next
Every standings update is now read through a playoff lens. In the East, Boston, Milwaukee, and Philadelphia feel like near locks for home-court advantage if they stay healthy. In the West, Denver looks safe, but everything below that is chaos. The Clippers have stabilized, the Thunder are fearless, and veteran groups like the Lakers and Warriors are trying to hold off younger rosters that want their spot.
Injuries, as always, lurk in the background of every projection. Key rotation players nursing minor issues can tilt a game or two; a star going down can flip an entire seeding line. Coaches are already talking about “getting to April healthy” as much as they talk about chasing specific seeds. Expect a few strategic rest nights, especially in back-to-backs, as contenders try to balance rhythm with preservation.
The Playoff picture is still fluid, but some broad strokes are clear. Boston and Denver are pacing their conferences. Teams like the Bucks, 76ers, Clippers, and Thunder are trying to lock in home-court and avoid the noise of the middle pack. Meanwhile, the Lakers and Warriors are fighting not just their opponents, but their own inconsistency, trying to stay above the dreaded 11th seed line that turns the postseason into couch-viewing instead of court time.
Looking ahead, the calendar is loaded with must-watch matchups. High-profile cross-conference showdowns, rivalry games between Lakers and Warriors, and measuring-stick nights for the upstart Thunder against established contenders will all hit in the coming days. Each of those games is more than just another W or L; they are data points in how the league’s hierarchy is taking shape.
For fans, this is the sweet spot of the season. The novelty of opening week is gone, the rhythm is set, and every win now echoes through the NBA Standings, the MVP Race, and the Playoff picture. Keep one eye on the nightly box scores, another on the health reports, and be ready for another round of crunch-time drama as the stars chase seeding, awards, and legacy.
