“Who’s the ultimate decoy? James Harden or Hinata Shoyo?”: How the Nets’s star took inspiration from Haikyuu’s middle blocker for his Game 5 performance against the Bucks

Brooklyn Nets star James Harden acted like the ‘ultimate decoy’ for Kevin Durant tonight, and we can’t help but draw a comparison to Hinata Shoyo

The Brooklyn Nets changed the flow of the tides, as they made their way back to the Barclays Center. After suffering two consecutive losses in Milwaukee, the Nets looked like they had lost momentum in the series. Losing Kyrie Irving to an ankle sprain just made matters worse for the rising tyrants. However, James Harden made his return back to the court.

Kevin Durant was sensational last night, scoring a triple-double while playing all 48 minutes of the game. He scored 49 points, grabbed 17 rebounds, and dished 10 assists. Jeff Green and Blake Griffin added 27 and 17 points as well.

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For the Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 34 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Khris Middleton added 25 points of his own as well, but the Bucks blew an early 17 point lead that they had. Heading back to Milwaukee, the Bucks would like to win this do-or-die game and extend the series to 7 games.

Did James Harden draw inspiration from Hinata Shoyo?

Even though James Harden has an awful night, stat-sheet-wise, he was still on the court for 46 minutes. He served a greater purpose on the court. With Harden out there, no matter how bad a night he was having, the Bucks could not focus all their energies on Durant alone. That gave KD some room to breathe, while Harden acted like a great decoy.

James Harden Game 5 highlights

Best decoy of all-time!? 🔥😳 pic.twitter.com/1jeQcyvdrY

— arian (@arxanii) June 16, 2021

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One cannot talk about great decoys and not think of Hinata Shoyo from Haikyuu. The middle-blocker from Karasuno High. Just like Hinata acted as a decoy so that his spikers can avoid a wall of blockers, Harden acted as a decoy to draw the defense away from Durant and his teammates.

Kevin Durant was all praise for Harden, as he came out without having healed completely, and stepped up when his team needed it.

Kevin Durant reflects on the “inspiring” 46-minute outing from James Harden tonight with his hamstring injury

“In the stat sheet, it may not look like it was great, but just his energy, his talk, his communication throughout the whole game was on point” pic.twitter.com/ouDGbqZqa7

— Nets Videos (@SNYNets) June 16, 2021

The Nets would hope that Harden feels better for Game 6, and can contribute a bit more towards the overall team performance. Game 6 takes place on Thursday in Milwaukee.