Philadelphia 76ers vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 02/21/26

Going on a 3-game losing streak and winning just once in 5 games couldn’t come at a worse time for the Philadelphia 76ers who are desperate to turn things around. Teams like the Magic and Heat are lurking right behind them in the East standings, The Sixers are holding on to that 6th seed for dear life. They simply cannot afford to lose games like the one they have on Saturday, as they head into New Orleans for a date with the Pelicans who will be without their leading scorer Trey Murphy III. Joel Embiid has already been ruled out with a lower leg injury and in a way that’s not necessarily a bad thing. At least the Sixers know they cannot rely on their big man, so they can now come up with a gameplan structured around the likes of Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe to carry them.

For the Pelicans not having their leading scorer is a massive handicap, when he’s out they’re winless in 5 games and with a point differential of -61 points. They do have a positive head-to-head record against Philadelphia, however most of the wins they got came in previous years when the health situation was a lot better than it is right now. Philly took the first meeting 124-114 some 3 weeks ago, the Pels had an unexpected hero in that game in Saddiq Bey who carried them with 34 points. The question is can he produce a similar performance on Saturday and can the Pelicans be competitive here?

My answer for both of those questions is – very unlikely. Philadelphia’s sense of urgency to win is far greater here, they’re 6-2 SU in 8 games vs Western Conference opponents. New Orleans has just 3 wins in 12 home games and they’ve failed to cover in 7 consecutive games vs East opponents. I’ll give the Sixers the benefit of the doubt, even if Embiid isn’t playing.

Philadelphia 76ers vs New Orleans Pelicans Predictions: 76ers -4.5 is available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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