76ers Anticipate Limited Joel Embiid vs Charlotte Hornets

Joel Embiid’s minutes restriction isn’t expected to go away just yet.

Heading into the Philadelphia 76ers’ home opener against the Charlotte Hornets, Nick Nurse suggested that Embiid’s game one minutes plan against the Boston Celtics was the right blueprint.

“It’s going to be similar, yeah,” Nurse said, leading up to the game.

Oct 17, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid before action against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The Sixers debuted Embiid for the team’s preseason finale a little over one week ago. After he played roughly 20 minutes, the Sixers hoped that he would be prepared to play in the opener, when the Sixers visited the Celtics in Boston. Sure enough, Embiid was good to go, but the restriction wasn’t lifted.

Embiid checked in for 20 minutes on Wednesday. During that time, the veteran center struggled with his shot, making just one of his nine attempts from the field. He finished the game with four total points, which was well below his typical scoring production.

Outside of that, Embiid came down with six rebounds, dished out two assists, and blocked one shot. It was clear that the veteran center is still working his way back to being one hundred percent.

Despite Embiid’s shortcomings on Wednesday, the Sixers managed to come out on top. They landed major offensive showings from the young stars Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe.

Maxey checked in for 41 minutes. During that time, the veteran guard shot 13-24 from the field and hit on seven of his nine shots from beyond the arc. After going 7-8 from the free-throw line, Maxey accounted for 40 points on the night. He also racked up six assists, two rebounds, two steals, and one block.

Oct 22, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard VJ Edgecombe (77) celebrates with guard Tyrese Maxey (0) and forward Dominick Barlow (25) after they defeated the Boston Celtics 117-116 at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images | Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

The rookie Edgecombe had the most shocking performance of the night, putting together a historical showing during his 42 minutes of action. The young guard went 13-26 from the field, hitting on five of his 13 shots from beyond the arc. Edgecombe broke a Sixers record, becoming the highest-scoring rookie during his debut with 34 points. He was three rebounds shy of a double-double and accounted for three assists as well.

The Sixers defeated the Celtics by one point. They’ll welcome the Hornets to Philadelphia after Charlotte collected a win against the Brooklyn Nets to start their season off on the right foot.

Last year, the Sixers found success against the Hornets in every matchup. With four wins, the Sixers increased their win streak against the Hornets to 10 games in a row. Saturday’s action, which will include a limited Embiid, will give the Sixers an opportunity to improve to 11 in a row, while starting the year 2-0.