Patrick Beverley tears meniscus in knee, reports say

Despite a stretch of minor injuries early on in the season, the Rockets were relatively lucky to dodge "the big one" through the first 70 games. The 71st game ended that run. Patrick Beverley exited the game after injuring his knee, and today Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting that Beverley tore his meniscus in the process.

It's a huge blow to the Rockets championship chances, and will be a huge test of Jeremy Lin, who has been coming off the bench behind Beverley all season. Isaiah Canaan will step in as the backup point guard, and the unproven rookie will enjoy trial by fire with just eleven games to get tuned up for the playoffs.

For a torn meniscus, there are two options for recovery: Removal of the meniscus or repair. Removal has a shorter return time, but has long term risks. The repair would likely rule Beverley out for the season, but he's less likely to have any problems down the road with the knee. Woj is reporting that Beverley will seek a second opinion on his chances for return this season, but I fully expect Beverley will have the injury repaired instead of removing his meniscus.

With the potential to meet Damian Lillard, Tony Parker, Russell Westbrook, and Chris Paul in the playoffs, Jeremy Lin is going to be in for a hell of a time.