Houston Rockets vs Portland Trail Blazers Prediction - Combined Starting 5 featuring James Harden and Damian Lillard

Shooting Guard - James Harden (Houston Rockets)

James Harden will be making an appearance for the Houston Rockets despite the ongoing off-the-court issues that the former MVP continues to deal with. All eyes will be on Harden as he plays his first regular season game since demanding a trade in the offseason.

Report: Brooklyn and Boston have had “recent conversations” with Houston on a James Harden trade, via @wojespn. He also added any deal for Harden might be “complex and three teams.” pic.twitter.com/BzUy86uu2K
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) December 25, 2020

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When Harden is focused and on his game, there may not be other players who are more unstoppable. He demands a double-team but is unselfish enough that he will find the open man.

Will Harden be a distraction this game? We’ll find out soon enough.

Point Guard - Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers)

It was unusual to see Damian Lillard struggle from the field for the Portland Trail Blazers when they faced the Jazz on Wednesday. He only had nine points on 4-of-12 shooting overall.

Lillard will have to recover from that and return to his All-Star form quickly to prevent the Blazers from going down 0-2 to start the season. He averaged 30 points per game last season, a career-high for the 5-time All-Star.

Rough game for Damian Lillard tonight:9 PTS - 33 FG% - 1/7 3PM - 0/1 FTM pic.twitter.com/TNeFfKAXqM
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) December 24, 2020