Power Rankings, Week 7: Warriors, Suns on top before 2 matchups this week - NBA.com

Record: 17-3
Pace: 101.4 (4) OffRtg: 110.8 (7) DefRtg: 103.7 (3) NetRtg: +7.1 (3)

It's kind of remarkable that the Suns, having reached The Finals in July, have been able to stay focused on the task at hand from night to night early in the season. They've played some close games against bad and shorthanded teams, but there should be minimal nitpicking of a 16-game winning streak.

The Suns' third-ranked defense isn't one that allows itself to get into rotation much. According to Second Spectrum, they rank last in the percentage of ball screens (3%) that they've defended with "blitz" or "show" coverage. But they chose to put themselves into rotation several times against the Knicks on Friday, doubling Julius Randle when he ventured near the paint and rotating from there. For the most part, the results were good.

Chris Paul said afterward that head coach Monty Williams asked the players how they wanted to defend Randle. They chose to bring two to the ball and Jae Crowder (Randle's primary defender) was cool with it.

"That's trust," Paul said. "That's the fun thing about being on a team where it's not about one person, it's not about an individual. It's about the team."

And it's really trust on two levels: Williams' trust in his players to make game-plan decisions and the double-teamer's trust that his teammates will make the proper rotations behind him.

In the 25 seasons prior to this one, 24 teams had won at least 17 of their first 20 games. Nine of those 24 had reached The Finals the previous season, while 11 of the 24 would reach The Finals in the season they won at least 17 of their first 20. This season, we have two teams that have won at least 17 of their first 20 games, they both can't reach The Finals, and they'll face each other twice this week.

Chris Paul is 22-28 in his career (13-19 in the regular season, 9-9 in the playoffs) against Stephen Curry. Neither of them guarded each other much last season – Mikal Bridges guarded Curry, while Curry spent most of his time guarding the Suns' forwards – but the point guard matchup is still one we need to enjoy while it lasts.

Week 7: vs. GSW, vs. DET, @ GSW