Philadelphia 76ers at Charlotte Hornets
Saturday, October 31, 2026
6:00 PM ET, Spectrum Center
The 76ers are 1.5-point favorites on the road with the total at 215.5, and my play is the Under 215.5 (-110).
Picking a side here means guessing which Sixers show up. Picking the total doesn’t. Both teams played Friday night, one of them can’t throw it in the ocean, and the other owns the best defense in basketball.
LeBron stole Friday. Saturday is a different ask. Philadelphia is 5-1 after a 98-93 win over the champion Knicks on Friday. LeBron James, 41 years old, filled the box score and hit the go-ahead fadeaway late, and Tyrese Maxey added 27. The bigger story for tonight is who doesn’t play. Jaylen Brown missed Friday with left knee tendinopathy and is reported out again. Philly’s official injury report hadn’t been filed as of early Saturday morning, so confirm before tip. The Sixers have also been careful with their stars on back-to-backs. On the first one they sat James one night and Joel Embiid the other. Both played heavy minutes Friday, so either one could get the night off.
Charlotte’s offense is the worst in the league right now. That’s not an exaggeration. The Hornets rank dead last in points per possession, and they’re shooting 28.7% from three. Friday in Washington was rock bottom: 12-of-56 from deep and just 79 points. Charlotte now owns the two lowest-scoring games in the NBA this season. Brandon Miller is putting up 24.5 a night, but he’s shooting about 37% to get there, and nobody else is drawing defenders away from him. Kon Knueppel, Coby White and Grant Williams still haven’t played a game this season. Knueppel is getting closer, but Charles Lee hasn’t given a timeline.
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Now point that offense at this defense. Philadelphia allows 0.999 points per possession, first in the NBA, and holds opponents to a 48.5% effective field goal percentage (a shooting number that gives threes their extra point), second-best. The Sixers also take care of the ball, with the second-lowest turnover rate in the league, so Charlotte won’t get a pile of easy run-out buckets. Philly’s offense isn’t scaring anyone either. It ranks 25th in efficiency, and that’s mostly with Brown in the lineup.
Slow, tired and cold. Charlotte plays at the slowest pace in the league, and the last three games have been even slower. That’s fewer possessions for everybody. Five of the Hornets’ six games have finished under tonight’s number. Add the second night of a back-to-back for both teams, and expect dead legs on jumpers in the fourth quarter.
What would blow this up. Second chances. Charlotte ranks fourth in offensive rebounding and Philadelphia is dead last at grabbing its own misses, so the Hornets will get some extra possessions. Charlotte’s three-point defense is also generous (opponents hit 37.1%), so a Maxey or Anfernee Simons heater could carry this past the number by itself. If Embiid rests, the Sixers’ defense loses its anchor. A Charlotte team shooting this poorly from deep will also hit a few eventually. The total has already dropped from 216.5, but I’d still play it down to 212.5.
Projected score: 76ers 108, Hornets 101. Philly grinds out a slow game, Charlotte works for every bucket, and the total lands around 209.
The Pick: Under 215.5 (-110)
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