Hawks get creative to urge All-Star votes

It’s all about the hashtag.

Kent Bazemore and Mike Muscala know it.

The two Hawks players were part of a video created by the team’s marketing department this week to urge fans to vote during now open NBA All-Star balloting. The skit is modeled after a routine by Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake on the Tonight Show where the two have a social media inspired conversation complete with a hashtag hand gesture.

Bazemore and Muscala run down the list of Hawks starters who deserve All-Star consideration. Each player gets a number of adjectives such as:

* Jeff Teague: #Put ‘em on skates

* Paul Millsap: #Get in your bag

* Al Horford: #Boss

* Kyle Korver: #Machine Gun Korver

* DeMarre Carroll: #Junkyard Dawg

The reference to Korver is play on words from rapper Machine Gun Kelly and is often shouted from the bench after he hits a 3-pointer.

“They gave us a script and we tweaked it, adlibbed it a little bit,” said Bazemore, who even does some singing in the skit. “Eighty percent of it (the marketing department) and we just ran with it. Luckily, we both saw the Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake rendition of it.

“I hope they see it. I think it will go viral.”

The video was filmed Thursday. The players said it took only about a half an hour to shoot. They did the routine twice as it was filmed from two angles and the final product was edited. The video was shot in the recently renovated conference room that was formally the locker room of the NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers.

“It’s kind of who I am,” Muscala said. “I’m on social media a lot and I see a lot of funny things. A lot of things make me laugh. I thought it would be fun to do.”

After Bazemore and Muscala run through the hashtag attributes of the starting five, they note that this year’s all-star balloting is open to all players – therefore you can #Vote for your boys.

The video ends with a cameo by veteran Elton Brand, who interrupts to inform the two that coach Mike Budenholzer wants them back at practice, as in immediately.

“You know, I’m a seasoned actor,” Brand said with a smile. “I come in and steal the show. I’ve done a few movies if you check me out on IMDB (International Movie Data Base). They said we have some young guys acting, can you help us out.”