The Philadelphia 76ers lost on Monday night to the team with the best record in the NBA the Utah Jazz. The 76ers were missing Joel Embiid and a career night from Ben Simmons and 36 points, 10 rebounds, and two assist night from Tobias Harris wasn’t enough to get the 76ers over the hump.

Once Joel Embiid was listed as a late scratch, it was clear Simmons and Harris would need to step up. Both players responded to the challenge well, but in the end, the Jazz continued their strong run start to the season. Simmons was asked after the game about the matchup.

“I loved when I saw Rudy (Gobert) was guarding me. I love being able to go at somebody like that. I felt like it was a little bit of disrespect putting him on me, but it is what it is.”

It’s odd that Simmons considered it a disrespectful gesture having a player guard him who has won multiple Defensive Player of the Year awards and is only the 10th NBA player to ever win it back-to-back.

It’s understandable to question the positional difference, but Ben Simmons’ shooting struggles are well documented and call for unorthodox defensive approaches. It would be different if it was Damian Lillard who has the ability to shoot from just past half court. That’s not a guy you assign Rudy Gobert to guard. That being said, Simmons was able to drive around Gobert a number of times and make plays leading to his career night.

From the Jazz’s perspective, why not challenge Simmons playmaking ability for himself and others by putting the length of Gobert in front of him to make it difficult for Simmons? Make it hard for him to see passing lanes and attack the rim?

In the end, the Utah Jazz won the game and although this doesn’t mean that matchup of Rudy Gobert on Ben Simmons was the right call, it clearly didn’t hurt.