OKC Thunder: Chris Paul’s Team CP3 plays into Sweet 16 of TBT

OKC Thunder captain Chris Paul’s team CP3 will play in TBT Sweet 16 round this evening.

The Basketball Tournament better known as TBT began this weekend on July 4th in Columbus Ohio. OKC Thunder captain, Chris Paul has a team in the tourney as he does yearly. Team CP3 played on Saturday beating Team Primetime. Maybe Paul passed along his clutch time secrets as his squad hung on for the 76 – 74 victory.

Recalling this season’s All-Star Game, TBT utilizes the Elam Ending for all it’s matches and is why Chris Paul suggested using it to make the ASG more exciting.

The tournament runs 11 days, completing on July 14th when the winning team will collect the winner take all grand prize. Due to the current situation with the coronavirus, TBT has undergone significant alterations this year. The number of teams was reduced to 24, the prize money reduced to one million and all games occur in one location (Nationwide Arena in Colombus, Ohio).

Team CP3 plays way into TBT Sweet 16

The next opponent Team CP3 will face is the Golden Eagles a squad comprised of Marquette alumni. This match is part of the round of 16 and will air on ESPN on July 6th (tonight) at 9:00 p.m. on ESPN.

In a blast from the past, former OKC Thunder big man Hasheem Thabeet was hopeful of playing with his squad Playing for Jimmy V. They were one of four available replacement clubs. As it turned out they got the tap to replace the team Best Virginia but then someone on Playing for Jimmy V also tested positive forcing their withdrawal as well.

So far four teams were knocked out due to positive tests including the two teams above as well as  Mid-American Unity and Jackson TN Underdawgs because of positive coronavirus tests.

In many ways, this tournament is serving as a test study for the upcoming big scale NBA restart in Orlando as per James Herbert of CBS Sports. The health and safety protocol is arguably even more strict for TBT. Only four players can take an elevator at one time, they must all be from the same team and have to use tissues to press the elevator button and not speak during the ride up or down.

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Players don’t have the same freedom those in the Disney bubble will have in terms of being able to go outside. This is logical given they aren’t housed on a compound, but in a hotel. They can go to their rooms or a team room (each team has a room) where they can play games, watch film or socialize.

If team CP3 beats the Golden Eagles they will advance to the quarter-finals on July 10th. Win again and they’ll play in the semi-finals on July 12th and if successful gun for the championship on July 14th.

The Golden Eagles are comprised primarily of former Marquette players (10 of 13) including former NBA player Dwight Buycks. The full roster can be viewed here. Likewise, Chris Paul’s roster can be viewed here. A cool feature of the roster on the TBT website is the breakdown of the winning share for each player. Paul as GM would earn $100,000 if his squad wins.

Most games will run at 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. so tonight’s match is a bit unusual given it’s 9:00 p.m. airing.

Tune in tonight and cheer on team CP3 versus the number four seed. If you’re interested in checking out the other games in the Sweet 16 this week TBT main site offers the schedule, bracket and full team details of every squad.