Despite suffering cracked cartilage in his rib cage during a preseason game just two weeks ago, Milwaukee guard Eric Bledsoe is slated to be in the starting lineup when the Bucks open their 2019-20 regular season Thursday in Houston against the Rockets.

On Friday, Oct. 11, it was projected that Bledsoe would miss two-to-three weeks, which would have extended beyond the opener.

But the 29-year-old bucked the odds and is set to return Thursday, when the Bucks will certainly need his help to counter the Rockets’ new-look  starting backcourt of 2018 NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) James Harden and 2017 MVP Russell Westbrook.

“We’ve got such a great medical group and Eric’s so tough,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said of Bledsoe, as reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “You can just see the way he’s moving and everything, he looks pain-free.”

Bledsoe averaged 15.9 points, 5.5 assists, and 4.6 rebounds in 29.1 minutes per game with the Bucks last season. Against the Rockets, the 6-foot-1 guard was part of an innovative defensive strategy aimed at heavily shading the left-handed Harden to his right.

Speaking at the Rockets’ practice Wednesday in Houston, head coach Mike D’Antoni said he hopes Harden is ready to use his right hand in this matchup. In two games versus Bucks last season, Harden shot 39.3% from the field and 28.0% on three-pointers — well below his overall efficiency numbers of 44.2% shooting and 36.8% on threes.

Bledsoe will be joined in Milwaukee’s starting lineup by Wesley Matthews, Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez, and 2019 MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. Meanwhile, the Rockets will counter with Westbrook, Harden, Danuel House Jr., P.J. Tucker, and Clint Capela.

The Bucks went 2-0 versus Houston last season and had the NBA’s best record in the regular season at 60-22. Thursday’s game tips off at 7 p.m. local time and will be televised nationally on TNT.