Multiple sources, with Woj being the first, have confirmed that Patrick Beverley is out indefinitely with a torn meniscus. As this season's starting point guard and Houston's best defensive back-court player, there will certainly be serious ramifications for the Rockets, no matter how long he is out.
The question now becomes, what can Houston do without him? I think most would agree that Jeremy Lin will fill in better than many backup point guards would, but with the trade of Aaron Brooks at the deadline, it looks like Canaan will be facing much more difficult tests in his first season than we would have hoped.
As for me, I still think that Houston can scrape past Portland if we face them in the first round, though Lilliard will be much more of a factor without Beverley there to hound him nightly. If the Rockets face Golden State without Bev, I could see us upset by Curry and company. A second round series vs the Thunder and Westbrook or the Clippers and Paul didn't look promising before the injury, and now they look even more daunting. I would be surprised if Houston won two games against either of those teams. San Antonio, on the other hand, presents a different animal. They'll certainly be dialed in, but out of the top three teams in the West, I think Houston would still have a slight chance at an upset against the Spurs.
How about y'all? What's our ceiling? Will we hold onto the fourth seed? Will we make the second round or the conference finals? How many hours of OKC "karma" tweets will it take to push Rahat over the edge?