NBA Power Rankings, Week 8

The two best teams in the NBA met twice last week, splitting the series. Deandre Ayton and the Phoenix Suns shut down Stephen Curry on Tuesday in Phoenix, but the Golden State Warriors bounced back on their home floor Friday.

They both start the week at a league-best 19-4, but which of them takes the top spot in our NBA Power Rankings? The Christmas Day rubber match is shaping up to be one of the best games of the season, but can the Suns and Warriors hold off Donovan Mitchell and the surging Utah Jazz?

And speaking of surging Western Conference teams, Jaren Jackson Jr. led the Memphis Grizzlies to a 73-point win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday, setting the record for the largest margin of victory in NBA history. The Grizzlies are on a four-game win streak and have climbed to No. 4 in the West.

In the Eastern Conference, Zach LaVine and the Chicago Bulls have won three straight games to climb back near the top of the standings, just half a game behind the Brooklyn Nets for the top seed.

Our experts break down where these surging teams rank among each other.

Note: Throughout the regular season, our panel (Tim Bontemps, Jamal Collier, Nick Friedell, Andrew Lopez, Tim MacMahon, Dave McMenamin and Ohm Youngmisuk) is ranking all 30 teams from top to bottom, taking stock of which teams are playing the best basketball now and which teams are looking most like title contenders.

1. Golden State Warriors
2021-22 record: 19-4
Previous ranking: 1

Stephen Curry and the Warriors caught a glimpse of the first team all season that appears to be playing on their level: Phoenix. The Suns have the same kind of deep and talented roster that has made these two teams the early favorites in the Western Conference. After dropping Tuesday’s game to Chris Paul & Co., the Warriors responded by snapping the Suns’ 18-game winning streak on Friday. They ran out of gas in a surprising loss to the Spurs on Saturday — capping a 19-for-69 week from the field for Curry. — Friedell

This week:…