Magic vs. Sixers: Thad Young Starting, Elton Brand to Center

Let the Lineup Shakeup Pants Off Dance Off continue! Word has it that Thaddeus Young will be inserted into the starting lineup in place of Nikola Vucevic tonight against the Orlando Magic. Elton Brand, all 6'8 of him, will move to center. Spencer Hawes, has been saving Vuce's seat on the bench but it's okay because Vuce called "fives" anyway.

With the move, Doug Collins puts his most productive frontcourt out there to start the game. According to 82games.com, the Sixers' best offensive lineups have had Thad and Brand in there together. With eFG%'s of 47.4, 48.7, and 58.1, these guys (all with Jrue Holiday at the point) are what gets the offense going. It makes sense considering how bad the first and third quarters have been lately, but at the same time it just reeks of desperation.

So if you're in this for wins, this is good news for you. Glen Davis is out so it'll be a Ryan Anderson and Daniel Orton frontcourt for Orlando, a better matchup for Thad than either of the other two bigs. But I'm much more excited about the possibility of a Vuce/Hawes frontcourt for a few stretches tonight. This is what made the New Jersey game one of the more hilarious games of the season. Something about 7'0 crackers moping up the floor together makes my innards jiggle. Thus, I'm pumped for the game tonight. Also, I'm likely going to call him Randy Orton at least three times tonight, so get your RKO's ready.