Sixers’ Ben Simmons Embraces Utah Jazz Matchup After Two-Game Skid

As it stands right now, the Utah Jazz are the best team in the NBA. With a 22-5 record, which places them first in the Western Conference, there isn’t a single team better than them at the moment. On Monday, the Philadelphia 76ers, who rank at the top of the Eastern Conference, will take them on for the first time this year.

Currently, the Jazz are on a seven-game win streak. The last time they lost was against the Denver Nuggets on the final day of January. Meanwhile, the Sixers have hit a bit of a roadblock as they’ve lost two out of their last three games.

Lately, the Sixers haven’t looked up to par. After suffering losses against the Portland Trail Blazers and the Phoenix Suns, many are beginning to raise the question: Are the Sixers actually contenders? Or have they been pretenders all this time?

We’ll get a better idea on Monday when they take on the Jazz in Utah. One might think the Sixers could be mentally drained as they’ve played their last three games on the road in arenas that are on the other side of the country, but Philly’s two-time All-Star Ben Simmons doesn’t believe that’s an issue. 

In fact, Simmons mentioned on Saturday that he and the Sixers look forward to these high stakes matchups, no matter what the circumstances are. 

“We want to play these teams,” Simmons said on Saturday. “We wanna play the best teams. You know, we want that competition, that competitive spirit when we go out there. Especially when we play teams like [the Suns or the Jazz]. We want to have those tests and be able to see where we’re at.”

Returning home next Wednesday with a 1-3 record over the last four road games won’t be uplifting for the Sixers, who wanted to repair their woes away from home this season. While the West Coast trip wasn’t expected to be an easy one, coming out 2-2 would actually put the Sixers in good shape before heading back to Philly.

Monday’s game against the Jazz could be considered the 76ers’ toughest matchup this season. So, getting that even record for this trip certainly won’t be easy. But if the Sixers are who they think they are, which is one of the top teams in the NBA, then they should manage to put up a good fight and possibly bounce back from a two-game skid.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_