Patrick Beverly wants to play in Western Conference finals
Houston’s Patrick Beverly has been out with a wrist injury, but hopes to return and play the Warriors
The Houston Rockets stunned the Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference semifinals. Many wrote them off completely after they fell behind 3-1, but they roared back to life to win the series and earn the right to face the Golden State Warriors in the conference finals.
Now, they may have a key contributor back for that series as well.
Guard Patrick Beverly, who has been out since March with a wrist injury, had the cast removed on his surgically-repaired left wrist Monday and will examine smaller braces to test his capacity to play in the Western Conference Finals, according to RealGM’s league sources.
Beverley, one of Houston’s regular starters, will test out his left wrist in ball handling drills on Monday night according to the source. If things go well there, and Beverly can find a protective brace that doesn’t put his wrist in danger of re-injury, he could come back for the series.
This would be huge news for the Rockets, an excellent team who nonetheless need all the help they can get against the 67-win giant they need to slay.
The 6’1″ Beverley averaged 10.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 56 games this season before his injury.
Beverly’s return would displace Jason Terry from the starting lineup, which will boost not only their starting unit but their bench. Beverly may not be James Harden, but he’s a crucial piece of this team. Part of the reason they fell behind the Clippers in the first place can be traced back to missing Beverly’s presence in the lineup.
It was originally reported that the 26-year-old Beverly would not return this season due to the wrist injury; and if this were not in the conference finals, he probably would not. But Beverly’s desire to come back is high, and who can blame him for that?
That being said, the Rockets won’t be getting their point guard back at full strength here. And though 75 or 80 percent of his production would be a boon to the club, don’t expect any miracles.
The team will need all the help they can get in the Western Conference finals against Golden State, who only posted one of the ten best records in NBA history behind the play of MVP Steph Curry and a lineup of strong contributors through and through. This is a formidable juggernaut, but Memphis provided the blueprint for victory when they briefly grabbed a series lead in the semifinals. Houston will need to follow that blueprint, and replacing the 37-year-old Terry with Beverly can only help.
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