Thaddeus Young, Lavoy Allen will start if Bynum can't

After the 76ers defeated the Cavaliers 113-99 at the Wells Fargo Center, Doug Collins announced that he would start Thaddeus Young and Lavoy Allen at power forward and center respectively if Andrew Bynum is not ready to go for the home opener, according to John Finger of Comcast SportsNet.

This is big news for a few reasons. First, the team has been stating most of training camp that they expected Hawes to start. Collins said it is largely because he likes the combination of Young and Allen out there together, which somewhat saves face for Spencer Hawes. It's less about Hawes being benched than it is about a better combination of players, or at least that's the way Collins is presenting it.

Second, it brings up the possibility of Young being a starter. which is something I've argued is best for the team. Now, this doesn't mean Collins won't go back to Hawes and Bynum when Bynum returns, it just means that he is at least open to the possibility about starting Young, a player who has only started 2 games during Collins two season as head coach.

Third, and perhaps most importantly, it is the first time the 76ers are publicly discussing the possibility that Andrew Bynum may not be ready for the home opener. While everything I've read and been told about the Synvisc injection is that it is legitimately not a big deal, a bone bruise that close to the season has to present some risk that everything won't go according to plan, which it would have had to in order for Bynum to make it back by opening night. Even if it does fully heal, to expect a big man like Bynum to start the season off with virtually no practice was more than a little bit optimistic.