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Grizzlies Beat Thunder 91-99, Kevin Durant Likes The Team's Work Ethic, and Kyle Weaver who?

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The Thunder saw their very first live game action of the 2009-10 (pre)season last night, and unfortunately ended up on the bottom side of the scoreboard. They were still able to take away some positives from last nights game as you probably read in our game recap last night, and if you didn't, well good, because we got you covered in todays edition of Loud Links which includes about five different game recaps plus our own. If you are just looking for the score, I'll even make it easy on you by telling you the Grizzlies won 117-89, but then you'd look stupid when talking to your friends about the game last night, so I suggest you read on, and make the jump so that you can actually know the real score of the game, as well as some details while at the same time helping our little blog out, ya dig? Thanks.

Outside of last nights game, todays edition of loud links hits on Kevin Durant (What's new?) and how he likes the work ethic of this Thunder team, and also Dime Mag lists Kevin Durant at #15 in their top 30 "Go to" players in the NBA. Darnell Mayberry (The most unenthusiastic journalist on television) thinks Kyle Weaver is the forgotten man, and he may be right. The NBA is going to televise the NBA D-League draft, so get ready to wait, and wait, and wait until picks #16 and #17 to see who joins the Tulsa 66ers for the 2009-10 season. The addition of the Thunder has helped push Oklahoma City to #37 on the list of best sports cities. Finally Lakers blog continues their "Know thy enemy" series with their Oklahoma City Thunder Preview. So take a flying leap and check out todays Loud Links.

Grizzlies Take Over in 4th, Thunder Play Well for 3 Quarters, Lose 91-99 - Welcome to Loud City
Well, I gotta be honest here, it wasn't a whole lot of fun listening to a basketball game on the radio, but what are you gonna do? This game was apparently not broadcast anywhere on TV, so the only option Thunder fans had to get in on the action tonight was to listen to the game on the radio.

Preseason: Grizzlies beat Thunder - Straight Outta Vancouver
WIN, WIN, WIN. The rivalry is settled -- the Grizzlies proved they are exactly eight points better than the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Grizzlies won the game 99-91 after posting a spectacular 4th quarter blowout. Sam Young played the hero by scoring 15 in the 4th quarter, rallying the Grizzlies behind a slashing attack that got him to the free throw line almost at will.

Young's big 4th carries Grizzlies past Thunder - NBA - Yahoo! Sports
Kevin Durant(notes) scored 17 for the Oklahoma City, which was playing its preseason opener. D.J. White(notes) had 16 for the Thunder, and rookie James Harden(notes) finished with 12. Nenad Krstic(notes) and Shaun Livingston(notes) contributed 10 apiece.

Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Memphis Grizzlies - ESPN Recap
Kevin Durant scored 17 for the Oklahoma City, which was playing its preseason opener. D.J. White had 16 for the Thunder, and rookie James Harden finished with 12. Nenad Krstic and Shaun Livingston contributed 10 apiece.

Memphis Tops Oklahoma City, 99-91
I’m honestly just relieved we made it through this thing with everyone alive. After Dez Bryant being declared ineligible today, I wondered if this sports year was just cursed in Oklahoma. What was built up to maybe be the biggest year of sports ever in this state has now seen Sam Bradford get hurt, Jermaine Gresham get hurt, Ryan Broyles get hurt, OU lose two games, OSU unexpectedly lose to Houston and now Dez Bryant out for the season potentially. I honestly feared for Kevin Durant’s life tonight. One down. 88 more to go.

Pre-Season Game 1 Recap: Memphis 99, Oklahoma City 91
Well, I'll be honest, I only heard the last few minutes of this game, and without any footage to watch, there's not much to say. The Thunders' starting five kept a fairly consistent lead over the Grizzlies until the 4th quarter, where we put in our scrubs (Harden, Livingston, White, Bowen, Mullens) and they got completely dominated. The people who are known quantities produced pretty much as expected.

Q&A: Kevin Durant likes team’s work ethic | NewsOK.com
I’ve noticed in these two years that I’ve been in the league every time I work out after practice I have a good game the next day so I kept going with that. I want to get better. That’s the thing I’ve been taught ever since I was young. Always get better so that’s why I do it.

The NBA’s 30 best go-to players (#15: Kevin Durant) | Dime Magazine
Durant may have more natural scoring ability than anyone — yes, anyone — in the NBA. But those skills that seem like his birthright overshadow the real reason why he’s on pace to run this League: He also has a ton of learned scoring ability. Durant couldn’t drop 25 a game with an entire defense planned around him if it was as simple as throwing a ball into a basket on instinct. He does it because he’s a student of the game, with the work ethic of a Shaolin monk.

Kyle Weaver: The Forgotten Man | Thunder Rumblings
But that’s the predicament Weaver finds himself in as the Thunder opens its preseason schedule tonight in Memphis. Against the Grizzlies, though, Weaver might finally catch a much-needed break. Sefolosha sustained a mild concussion in Monday’s practice and did not travel with the team. That leaves an open spot at the starting shooting guard position that Weaver is itching to fill. It’s an opportunity for playing time that Weaver must take advantage of and show Thunder coach Scott Brooks he’s worthy of minutes. Fail to do so and Sefolosha and Harden are waiting in the wings to turn a three-man battle for minutes into a headache-free, two-man rotation.

NBA TV To Televise 2009 NBA D-League Draft On November 5
Tulsa, Okla., October 7, 2009 - The Tulsa 66ers and NBA Development League announced today that its 2009 Draft will take place from the NBA TV studio in Atlanta, GA on Thursday, Nov. 5. The live selection show highlights the ninth-annual draft which offers NBA D-League teams the opportunity to build their rosters from a pool of promising players. The draft will be televised on NBA TV and streamed live online on NBA.com (www.nba.com/dleague) beginning at 6 p.m. (CST).

Oklahoma City jumps to No. 37 on list of best sports cities | NewsOK.com
"Jumping into the major professional sports scene with the arrival of the Thunder is a big deal for Oklahoma city when it came to our 12-month city snapshot," Sporting News chief of correspondents Bob Hille said in a statement.

Know thy enemy: Oklahoma City Thunder | Lakers Blog
Oklahoma City Thunder Last Season: 23-59 (.280, 5th in the Northwest Division, 13th in the Western Conference) Key Additions: Drafted James Harden, BJ Mullins, traded for Kevin Ollie, Etan Thomas Key Subtractions: Earl Watson, Damien Wilkins. I'm willing to wager that a healthy portion of NBA teams- lottery and playoff squads alike- would trade their lot in life for what the Thunder have cooking in their big cast iron, high plains basketball kettle. A killer core of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Jeff Green, none older than 23, with more potential added in first rounder Harden. Scads of draft picks...