Doug Collins: "Thaddeus Young is going to be out for awhile"

Before I get started, just allow me to say: NOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ugh. This sucks. So much.

If you aren't aware by now, midway through the Sixers match up versus the Orlando Magic, Sixers starting PF Thaddeus Young went down with a hamstring injury. It seemed to occur as he was diving for a loose ball near the Sixers bench. Thad stayed down writhing in pain and quite frankly it did not look good at all. He was taken to the locker room and did not return to the game.

After the Sixers victory, head coach Doug Collins was asked about Thad's status and gave the following update:

#Sixers Collins: 'Thad is going to be out a while.'

— Tom Moore (@tmoorepburbs) February 5, 2013

Word is that Thad will have an MRI tomorrow.

Crap.

This is obviously TERRIBLE news. Thad Young has been a big part of any success the Sixers have maintained this season. It's clear he's one of the most - if not THE most - valuable players this season. His new found identity has contributed to how well he's played this year.

Whether it's grabbing contested offensive rebounds for second chance baskets, his improved defensive rebounding, making difficult shots look awkwardly smooth, or playing good defense, Thad is always bringing positive attributes when he's on the floor. And I haven't even mentioned his general up tempo, high energy, "turning-garbage-into-gold" style of play that he brings to the game every night. Any time that Thad misses is a HUGE loss.

He's clearly the best member of an otherwise terrible Sixers front court, too. With Thad out, we're facing the possibility of a Spencer Hawes and Kwame Brown (OH GOD) starting rotation. May the Basketball Gods have mercy on our souls. The pairing of the Tin Towers (shout out to dweebowitz for the nickname) would be catastrophically bad. Other apt adjectives to describe how terrible that front court pairing would be are: abysmal, atrocious, brutal, damnable, deplorable, detestable, disastrous, dreadful, execrable, horrendous, horrible, stinky, rotten, abominable, vile, inadequate, scurrilous, villainous. For the Sixers sake, hopefully Lavoy Allen, who's been kind of "meh", can step up and prevent this horrible pairing from happening.

The silver lining in this news (if you can call it that) is that the 2012 Sixers first round pick Arnett Moultrie has a better chance to see playing time. Moultrie hasn't impressed in the limited time he's played, but he is a rookie and might be experiencing some NBA growing pains. He's another player who's going to have to step up if the Sixers intend to make the playoffs.

It's just no fun when your team's best and most valuable players are hurt. Andrew Bynum's season long knee injury issues have left the Sixers fans waiting and now the loss of Thad Young could prove to really hurt the Sixers playoff chances.

Rich Hofmann summed it up well:

But yeah, it's difficult to see a playoff push without Thad. It's basically "Jrue and Pray for Rain" now with this roster.

— Liberty Ballers (@Philly76ersBlog) February 5, 2013

Get well soon, Thad. We miss you already.