Philadelphia 76ers vs New Orleans Pelicans Picks and Prediction: Maxey Carries the Load in New Orleans
The Philadelphia 76ers, sitting 6th in the Eastern Conference at 30-25, travel to face the 14th-placed New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center on Saturday, February 21, tipping off at 7:00 PM ET. With the Sixers navigating a crisis stretch without both Joel Embiid (right knee/shin, 4th straight absence) and Paul George (NBA suspension through late March) and sporting a brutal 1-7 record in their last eight games without their star center, this matchup pits a playoff-bubble team running on fumes against a Pelicans squad that is 15-42, 6-21 at home, and playing the second night of a back-to-back after getting blown out 139-118 by Milwaukee on Friday, as Tyrese Maxey (28.9 PPG) attempts to carry Philadelphia to a road win and snap a three-game skid against one of the league's worst defenses in the 2025-26 campaign.
OC Staff - February 21, 2026, 12:55 PM EST
3 Minute ReadPhiladelphia 76ers vs New Orleans Pelicans Picks and Prediction: Maxey Carries the Load in New Orleans
76ers vs Pelicans Recent Performance
Philadelphia sits 6th in the East at 30-25 and has dropped three straight, getting torched 117-107 by Atlanta in the first game back from the All-Star break. The Sixers are 1-7 in their last eight games without Joel Embiid, and tonight is game four of that stretch. Tyrese Maxey is doing everything he can, scoring 28 points against the Hawks, but the offense has no center of gravity without the big fella anchoring the half court. The silver lining: Philadelphia has been quietly excellent on the road, building a 15-10 record away from home.
New Orleans sits 14th in the West at 15-42 and just got dismantled 139-118 by Milwaukee on Friday night. That puts the Pelicans on a back-to-back tonight with their legs already shot. James Borrego is running the interim bench. Zion Williamson (21.9 PPG) remains the one legitimate threat on the roster, but with Trey Murphy III sidelined, the Pelicans are missing their top perimeter scorer and have limited secondary creation. New Orleans is a brutal 6-21 at home this season.
76ers vs Pelicans Head to Head
The Sixers beat the Pelicans by 10 points earlier this season on January 31, the last and only meeting this year. Philadelphia holds a 1-0 series lead and a 1-0 record against the spread in those matchups. The head-to-head history here is thin, so recent form and situational angles matter a lot more than trend lines.
Philadelphia 76ers vs New Orleans Pelicans Date, Time, and Where to Watch
- Date: Saturday, February 21, 2026
- Time: 7:00 PM ET
- How to Watch: Gulf Coast Sports, Pelicans+, NBC Sports Philadelphia, NBA League Pass
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76ers vs Pelicans Odds
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76ers vs Pelicans Team News
Philadelphia is without two of its three highest-paid players tonight. Paul George is still serving his 25-game NBA suspension for violating the league's anti-drug policy and won't be back until late March. Joel Embiid is out for his fourth straight game with right knee injury management and right shin soreness, leaving Andre Drummond and Adem Bona to split the center minutes. Drummond had 10 points and 14 boards against Atlanta but was never going to replicate what Embiid does. VJ Edgecombe (15 PPG, 5.5 RPG) said it best at the podium: "We miss Joel. It's that simple. He's a walking 30 points." Maxey (28.9 PPG, 6.7 APG) has been carrying this team and will have to do it again tonight.
New Orleans is dealing with its own injury issues coming out of the back-to-back. Trey Murphy III is out, which strips the Pelicans of their top perimeter scorer and best outside threat. Zion Williamson (21.9 PPG, 6.0 RPG) is the one player who can go nuclear on any given night, and Jeremiah Fears (1.3 SPG) and Derik Queen (12.3 PPG, 7.3 RPG) add complementary pieces, but this is a thin roster running on empty after getting beaten by 21 in Milwaukee 24 hours ago.
Prediction: 76ers 119, Pelicans 115
This is a matchup between a bad team (Pelicans) and an incomplete team (Sixers) that is still good enough to win ugly on the road. Philadelphia's 15-10 road record is legit, and they've covered the spread in 17 of their last 25 away games. New Orleans is 6-21 at home, ranks 27th in both offensive and defensive efficiency, and allows 120.7 points per night. A team playing on zero rest after a 21-point beatdown is not the spot to start a winning streak. Maxey and Edgecombe get enough going to grind this one out.
Best Bet: Over 230.5 (-130) Click here to get the best odds at BetMGM Sportsbook
The total has cleared in six of the 76ers' last eight games, and Pelicans home contests have gone over 56.7% of the time this season. Both defenses are bottom-10 in the league, with New Orleans giving up 120.7 PPG (27th) and Philadelphia surrendering 115.9 per game. Without Embiid anchoring the half court, the Sixers play looser and more transition-heavy, which is exactly the kind of game where the points stack up fast. Zion can go off at any moment on a night where the Pelicans are swinging for momentum after a rough stretch. The Pelicans' legs are dead from Friday, meaning their already-poor defense gets even softer. Maxey attacking a drained perimeter against the 27th-ranked three-point defense, one surrendering 14.6 made threes per game, is a recipe for a shootout. Points are coming in bunches tonight.
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