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EKG. It's the newest nickname for the Bucks big three of Eric Bledsoe, Kris Middleton, and Giannis Antetokounmpo who they're calling the heartbeat of Milwaukee, and the Bucks just dropped a new hype video to get fans to vote the trio into the All-Star game.
Vote for the heartbeat of Milwaukee NOW: https://t.co/dI1UiwAnXI pic.twitter.com/4JslRle5NH
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) January 10, 2018
Antetokounmpo, the Bucks 23-year-old star, won't need much extra help from fans. Six days ago, it was announced he was leading the entire NBA in all-star votes with 863,000. That's 7,000 more than LeBron James and 96,000 more than Kevin Durant.
The appreciation from NBA fans is well deserved.
In 37 games this season, Antetokounmpo is averaging 28 points, 10 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game—a feat only eight other players in NBA history have accomplished—plus, he's shooting 55 percent while playing a league high 37.7 minutes per game.
Those numbers are why most NBA pundits feature Giannis near the top of the MVP list.
The other two parts of "the heartbeat" are on all-star game life support. Both are outside the top 10 vote getters at their respective positions and need some help from Bucks fans.
Since arriving to Milwaukee via trade, Bledsoe has averaged 18 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists per game. Only 16 other players have averaged comparable numbers this season, and 11 of them are in the Western Conference.
Bledsoe hasn't gotten much respect behind more popular but undeserving guards like Dwayne Wade and Isaiah Thomas, but he's silently getting work done in Milwaukee.
Khris Middleton has been even better than Bledose, which makes his lack of All-star support a bit head-scratching.
The 6 foot, 8 inch forward is averaging 20 points, 5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game while shooting 35 percent from 3-point range. Only five other players have managed that stat line: James Harden, LeBron James, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, and DeMarcus Cousins.
Middleton isn't having the overall season that group is, but his name certainly deserves more respect in terms of All-Star voting. At the very least, Enes Kanter and Dwight Howard shouldn't be ahead of him.
Here's how fans can vote:
NBA.com
The NBA app
Facebook and Twitter with the hashtag #NBAVOTE
