Trent Reinsmith
Entering Week 8 of the 2021-22 NBA season, the top two teams in the NBA standings are both from the Western Conference’s Pacific Division. Those teams are the Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns. Both teams are 19-4 and the two clubs are 1-1 in the head-to-head matchup between them. The Suns and Warriors meet for the third of four times this season in a must-watch Christmas day game.
As for the Eastern Conference, the Brooklyn Nets (16-7) sit at the top, followed by the surprising Chicago Bulls, who are not far behind the Nets with a 16-8 record.
Before we break down the best matchups of Week 8 of the NBA schedule, check out the best NBA betting sites and our betting guide for the 2022 NBA Finals.
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Memphis Grizzlies
- Date & Location: Thursday, December 9 at FedEx Forum in Memphis, TN
- Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
- How to Watch: Bally Sports SE-MEM, Spectrum SportsNet, NBA League Pass
The Los Angeles Lakers are struggling. The team, who were picked to do well this season, are 12-12, and that’s not good enough for a club with the amount of talent and payroll the Lakers have. Los Angeles enters Week 8 of the NBA season in sixth place in the Western Conference and 4-6 in their past 10 games.
Memphis is playing well. They are on a four-game winning streak and sitting in fourth place in the West. What makes the Memphis winning streak impressive is the team has been without leading scorer Ja Morant.
— Ja Morant (@JaMorant) December 5, 2021
The Lakers and Grizzlies have met once this season with Los Angeles winning that game 121-118.
Boston Celtics vs. Phoenix Suns
- Date & Location: Friday, December 10 at Footprint Center, Phoenix, AZ
- Time: 10:00 p.m. ET
- How to Watch: Bally Sports AZ, NBC Sports Boston, ESPN
The Boston Celtics have not been a consistent team this season. The club is 13-11 but hasn’t had a stretch where it has won more than three games in a row. On the flip side, Boston has also not lost more than three games in a row this season.
JaVale bringing the hammer 🔨 pic.twitter.com/Jn718mE87p
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) December 4, 2021
The way the Phoenix Suns shut down Steph Curry in the first meeting between these two teams this year was impressive. The bad news for the team is that the club lost its leading scorer, Devin Booker to injury in that game. Booker has a hamstring injury and the Suns are going to play things as safe as possible with him early in the season. I wouldn’t worry about a huge fall off from the Suns.
Golden State Warriors vs. Philadelphia 76ers
- Date & Location: Saturday, December 11 at Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA
- Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
- How to Watch: ABC
When a 2-2 run is the worst thing on a team’s record, you know that team is doing well. That’s the situation the Golden State Warriors find themselves in entering Week 8 of the NBA season. The Suns are 19-4 on the year and look like they are going to stay at or near the top of the Western Conference for the rest of the season.
Stephen Curry and Draymond Green's on-court chemistry is unmatched #NBABreakdown pic.twitter.com/k69LQwGXxv
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) December 6, 2021
Philadelphia was without their best player, Joel Embiid for most of November, but he’s back on the court and the team is 2-2 since his return, which is better than the 2-7 the team went when he was out of the lineup. As much as Embiid means to the 76ers, I don’t think he’s enough to help the team, who have a 12-11 record, defeat Golden State.
Brooklyn Nets vs. Detroit Pistons
- Date & Location: Sunday, December 12 at Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA
- Time: 6:00 p.m. ET
- How to Watch: Bally Sports DET, YES, NBA League Pass
As good as the Brooklyn Nets record is at 16-7 there is a dark side to their season and that is the fact that the Nets are 1-6 against teams who are over .500 and that one win came against the Washington Wizards on October 5. The good thing for the Nets in this matchup is that the Pistons are far from a .500 team. Detroit enters Week 8 of the season with a 4-18 record and eight straight losses.
the league's top three-point shooter is at it again 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/rhaqOiDiur
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) December 5, 2021
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