October 31, 2026 | Ethical Sports Takes | NBA Predictions
Ethical Sports Takes enters Halloween with momentum after an impressive 7–3 performance on Friday, improving our season prediction record to 48–31–2 (60.8%).
Saturday brings seven NBA matchups, including Philadelphia looking to continue its strong start, Minnesota facing an undefeated Memphis? No — the Timberwolves travel to San Antonio, while Oklahoma City visits Houston in our featured matchup.
We’re backing the Rockets to bounce back from their first defeat of the season, but it won’t be easy against the Thunder.
Let’s get into our seven selections.
1. Portland Trail Blazers vs. Utah Jazz
Time: 3:00 PM ET
EST Pick: Portland Trail Blazers
Portland heads to Utah looking to recover from Thursday’s disappointing 124–103 defeat against Memphis.
The Jazz have injury concerns throughout their frontcourt, with Jaren Jackson Jr. unavailable and Lauri Markkanen dealing with a wrist issue.
Portland has its own absences, but we believe the Trail Blazers have enough offensive talent to take advantage of Utah’s weakened rotation.
The key will be controlling the paint and avoiding the defensive lapses that have hurt Portland early this season.
Prediction: Portland Trail Blazers win.
2. Philadelphia 76ers vs. Charlotte Hornets
Time: 6:00 PM ET
EST Pick: Philadelphia 76ers
Philadelphia enters Saturday at 5–1 following Friday’s hard-fought 98–93 victory over the New York Knicks.
Tyrese Maxey has been outstanding to start the season, scoring 27 points against New York, while LeBron James contributed 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.
Charlotte, meanwhile, is coming off an ugly offensive performance against Washington, managing just 79 points in defeat.
Both teams are playing their second game in as many nights, so fatigue could become a factor.
However, Philadelphia has been the more consistent team, and we’re trusting Maxey and the 76ers to deliver another victory.
Prediction: Philadelphia 76ers win.
3. Atlanta Hawks vs. New Orleans Pelicans
Time: 7:00 PM ET
EST Pick: Atlanta Hawks
Atlanta enters this matchup after an encouraging 114–111 victory over Cleveland on Thursday.
The Hawks have shown flashes of strong offensive basketball, although consistency remains an issue.
New Orleans has struggled to establish itself early in the season, particularly defensively, and the absence of Jordan Poole creates another challenge for its offense.
This isn’t a matchup we’re overwhelmingly confident about. Atlanta will need to take care of the basketball and avoid giving New Orleans easy opportunities in transition.
Still, we like the Hawks to build on their victory over Cleveland.
Prediction: Atlanta Hawks win.
4. Minnesota Timberwolves vs. San Antonio Spurs
Time: 8:00 PM ET
EST Pick: San Antonio Spurs
Minnesota delivered one of Friday’s most impressive performances, crushing the LA Clippers 127–101 despite playing without Anthony Edwards.
The Timberwolves deserve credit for responding so convincingly without their leading scorer.
However, Saturday presents a different challenge.
San Antonio has been excellent to begin the season, with Victor Wembanyama providing an imposing presence around the basket.
Minnesota must also deal with the second night of a back-to-back, while Edwards remains unavailable.
The Timberwolves demonstrated Friday that they shouldn’t be underestimated, but we believe San Antonio’s size, defense and home-court advantage will make the difference.
Prediction: San Antonio Spurs win.
5. Sacramento Kings vs. Memphis Grizzlies
Time: 8:00 PM ET
EST Pick: Memphis Grizzlies
Memphis enters Saturday with plenty of confidence after defeating Portland 124–103 on Thursday.
The Grizzlies have been one of the early season’s most impressive teams, while Sacramento continues searching for answers.
The Kings have struggled defensively, and their injury concerns make an already difficult matchup even more challenging.
Memphis needs to avoid complacency, but this is a game it should control if it maintains the intensity we’ve seen so far.
We’re backing the Grizzlies to continue their strong start.
Prediction: Memphis Grizzlies win.
6. Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Milwaukee Bucks
Time: 8:00 PM ET
EST Pick: Cleveland Cavaliers
Cleveland heads to Milwaukee looking to respond after Thursday’s narrow 114–111 defeat against Atlanta.
The Cavaliers have shown more consistency than Milwaukee through the opening stretch of the season.
The Bucks have struggled to establish momentum, and Cleveland has the offensive talent to make life difficult for Milwaukee’s defense.
Playing on the road is never straightforward, but we expect the Cavaliers to approach this matchup with urgency following their previous defeat.
If Cleveland executes defensively and avoids unnecessary turnovers, it should have the advantage.
Prediction: Cleveland Cavaliers win.
7. Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Houston Rockets
Time: 8:30 PM ET
EST Pick: Houston Rockets
Our featured Halloween matchup brings together two Western Conference contenders, and we’re going with Houston.
The Rockets suffered their first defeat of the season Friday, falling 116–111 against Dallas despite Kevin Durant scoring 28 points.
Houston now returns home with an immediate opportunity to respond.
Oklahoma City presents a serious challenge. The Thunder remain one of the league’s most talented teams, and their defensive intensity can disrupt even the strongest offenses.
However, Oklahoma City is dealing with significant injuries. Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, Alex Caruso and Cason Wallace are among the unavailable players.
Houston also has injury concerns, particularly with Alperen Sengun sidelined recently, so this is far from an easy selection.
What makes this matchup interesting is the timing.
The Rockets had been undefeated before Friday’s defeat. They now have an opportunity to show how they respond to adversity against a conference rival.
We expect Houston to come out aggressively, with Durant leading the offensive attack.
The Thunder are fully capable of winning, and this is arguably our toughest prediction of the evening.
Nevertheless, we’re trusting Houston to deliver a statement performance at home.
Prediction: Houston Rockets win.
EST NBA Picks Summary — October 31, 2026
Matchup
EST Selection
Portland vs. Utah
Portland Trail Blazers
Philadelphia vs. Charlotte
Philadelphia 76ers
Atlanta vs. New Orleans
Atlanta Hawks
Minnesota vs. San Antonio
San Antonio Spurs
Sacramento vs. Memphis
Memphis Grizzlies
Cleveland vs. Milwaukee
Cleveland Cavaliers
Oklahoma City vs. Houston
Houston Rockets
EST NBA Season Prediction Record
Current Record: 48–31–2
Winning Percentage: 60.8% (excluding pushes)
Previous Slate: 7–3
Final Thoughts
Friday’s 7–3 performance was an encouraging response, but the objective is to keep delivering consistent predictions throughout the season.
Saturday offers several intriguing matchups.
Philadelphia looks to maintain its excellent start, Minnesota faces another difficult test without Anthony Edwards, and Cleveland has an opportunity to bounce back against Milwaukee.
Our boldest selection comes in Houston, where we’re backing the Rockets to recover from Friday’s defeat and hand Oklahoma City another loss.
Seven games. Seven selections.
Let’s see whether we can close October with another winning performance.
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