According to ESPN's Shams Charania, Houston Rockets point guard Fred VanVleet tore his ACL, and while this is devastating news for all NBA fans considering how much VanVleet means to an up-and-coming Rockets team, it could also significantly shake up the Western Conference playoff picture as fans and teams across the league gauge how their team compares to its peers.
The Dallas Mavericks are one of the teams that will be directly impacted by this, as the Rockets are a team that they'll be jousting with for positioning in the standings all season long, and VanVleet going down quietly just made things easier for the Mavs when it comes to securing a prime playoff spot.