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Theres no formula. Because its never been done before. -- Draymond Green on what the Warriors are trying to doMaybe the notion of adding the previous Most Valuable Player to the current MVP on a team that won 73 games is new, but that doesnt mean there isnt a template for superstar success, lessons to be learned from what has transpired in the past. Its all right there in Boston, where the Warriors play tonight (ESPN, 8 p.m. ET), where nine years ago the Celtics set the standard for quickly assembled star-filled teams by winning the championship in Year 1.And the secret to their winning? Losing.Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce each averaged more than 20 points per game the season before they joined forces in Boston. All of them missed the playoffs that year, though.We were tired of losing, Pierce recalled. Wed all put up big numbers the year before ... but we didnt make the playoffs.Thats why Garnett and Pierce were willing to see their scoring averages dip by about five points each, while Allens plummeted nine points. They had tasted individual success -- most notably Garnetts 2004 Most Valuable Player award -- but none of them had savored so much as a trip to the NBA Finals. So they adapted, learned how to get more from less, sacrificed for the sake of the team.We learned how to feed off each other, whoever had it going, Pierce said. We just kind of took turns. It wasnt like we said going into the game, OK this is your night. It was like once the game started, you saw it, you got a feel for it.Pierce was the leading scorer in the game 22 times that season, Garnett 15 times and Allen 10 times. While the Celtics rotated, the 2016-17 Warriors have been alternating, taking turns between Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. Each has been the game-high scorer four times this season. No other Warrior has had the honor.Durants arrival has meant more open looks for all four of their main offensive players. Only he and Curry are benefiting. Currys field goal percentage of .508 and 3-point percentage of .564 are both on track to be career highs. Durant, averaging one less shot per game than he took last season, is making a career-high 55.8 percent of his shots, bolstered by 61.8 percent of his two-point shots, a ridiculously high number for a perimeter player.In theory it should be Klay Thompson getting the boost. According to player tracking data on NBA.com, he gets 4.2 shots per game without a defender within six feet, the sixth-most wide-open shots in the league.But as Warriors coach Steve Kerr has pointed out, open looks arent the same as shots in rhythm. Sliding down a spot from second to third option can mean the shots come later in the 24-second clock and might be rushed. Or theyre taken under the duress that comes from uncertainty of when the next chance will arise. That could be why Thompsons field goal percentage is down to .441, (from .470 last season) and his 3-point percentage is below .400 for the first time in his career, at .313.Greens shooting numbers are down as well, even though 28 percent of his attempts are classified as wide open. But his defensive averages of 1.7 blocked shots and 2.3 steals per game are both career highs.I care nothing about offense, Green said.His defense has won games for the Warriors. At times its as if he is the only one putting in the work at that end of the court. The Warriors defensive drop-off over the past two-plus seasons has outpaced their offensive surge. While their points scored have gone from 110 points per game in 2014-15 to 115 last season and 117 this season, their points allowed have gone from 99 to 104 to 109.They lost their defensive anchor in Andrew Bogut, a salary cap casualty to create the space to sign Durant, and they have lost the collective buy-in on the defensive end. The scoring firepower of Curry and Durant is carrying the Warriors to victories, but they are not defending at a championship level. It might take more losing, even deep into the playoffs, to bring it out.After all, it was the loss to the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 NBA Finals that led to Dwyane Wade formally ceding the Miami Heat to LeBron James, a key step in their winning the next two championships.That was looking in my mirror and saying, At the end of the day, what do you want out of this? Wade said. I knew that Bron coming to Miami, that he was at times looking for me, trying to make sure I get the ball, trying to make sure I wasnt left out at times. The offense went to him, but he didnt want to step on my toes.Also Im a killer as well. I want it. So I decided to come in after looking at it over the summer [and say], Just go be great. Youre the greatest player in the game right now. And just go do that. And we will follow. And dont worry about us. At the end of the day, you be great. Were going to get what we want out of this. Sometimes youve got to do that. Sometimes it takes losing to get to that point. And we got there.Both Durant and the Warriors team he joined endured the sting of blowing 3-1 leads in the playoffs last year. But they havent gone through that pain together. Will the ups and downs of the regular season be enough to forge the bond and bring out the sacrifice, or will it take more suffering?Curry, for one, insists the quest for individual accolades is over and he only cares about championships.Thats all that really matters, Curry said. And having experienced success at that and obviously defeat at that, it makes it ... the only mission that Im on. Other stuff will come out of that.Personal glory comes from the team winning. And sometimes the teams winning comes from losing. If the Warriors need a reminder, they can look up to the Celtics 2008 championship banner.Walt Merrill Jersey Retro . "Trying to breathe," he said with a grin. Bernier stopped 42 of 43 shots on Monday night, including all 22 in a hectic middle frame, his heroic performance propelling the Leafs toward an undue point in their final game before the Christmas break. Jeff Walker Jersey Retro . Neymar curled home a free kick from just outside the area to put the 2014 World Cup host ahead in the 44th minute. Three minutes after the break, a simple through pass from Paulinho freed Oscar and the Chelsea star rounded goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong to extend Brazils lead. https://www.cheapjerseyslines.com/mike-fitzgerald-jersey-retro/ . All of the scoring came in the final 20:04. Lucic scored on a power play at 15:46 of the third period, when he tipped a shot over Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen for a 3-1 lead. Kevin Wyatt Jersey Retro .500 on the season. The Jets are now 0-5-1 in the second game of back-to-backs. The game started the same way the Vancouver game started the night before, with the Jets taking the first two penalties of the game and killing off the first, but the Oilers getting on the board first, scoring on the second man-advantage. Ray Neal Jersey Retro . Wilson hit Schenn from behind during Tuesday nights game in Philadelphia, earning a five-minute major for charging and a game misconduct. He has a phone hearing with the department of player safety, which limits any potential suspension to five or fewer games.VANCOUVER -- He was one of those players who was just always there -- and now, suddenly, hes gone. Alain Rochat rarely missed a game or a practice during two-plus seasons with the Vancouver Whitecaps. But in a move that caught both players and observers by surprise, he was traded Thursday to D.C. United for a second-round pick in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft and a conditional pick in 2016. "Its a bit of a head-scratcher," Whitecaps goalkeeper Brad Knighton said after practice. "Obviously, we came in (Thursday) morning ready to train and he was in (the locker-room). Its just one of those things where it happens in this league. I think it caught a lot of people off guard." Born in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., but raised in Switzerland, Rochat signed with the Whitecaps in August 2010 before spending the remainder of the year on loan with FC Zurich. In two-plus seasons with Vancouver, the 30-year-old scored five goals and added three assists in 67 regular-season MLS games. He made one MLS Cup playoff appearance and recorded two assists in nine Canadian Championship matches. In addition to left fullback, he played as a holding midfielder at times, while also providing strong leadership. Calm under pressure, he could move the ball with skill, speed and finesse not often associated with players whose priority is to prevent goals. The timing of the deal -- for nothing immediate in return -- was curious because the Whitecaps, coming off a rare road win over the New York Red Bulls, have battled injuries on the back line all season while also being unsettled at times in midfield. Vancouver coach Martin Rennie declined to comment on the timing or specific reasons for the deal, but noted the club has plenty of options to fill the void created by Rochats departure. "Weve got quite a number of players that can play left back and quite a number of players who can play a similar role in midfield," said Rennie. "So when we got the opportunity to make the move, that was why we did it." The coach said the move resulted from many factors, including salary-cap numbers. According to figures released in May by the MLS Players Union, RRochat is earning a $190,000 guaranteed base salary this season.dddddddddddd The deal, Rennie added, gives the Whitecaps some flexibility should another potential trade come their way. "The way it works in MLS is: There is a salary cap," said Rennie. "Theres lots of juggling of numbers and salaries and so on. When you do make a move, it does open up opportunities to make others, if you want to." In terms of pressing lineup moves, defender Jordan Harvey is expected to receive more regular duty. Rennie indicated he could play on the right side as he did when Rochat moved up to midfield, and Young-Pyo Lee, a mainstay at right fullback, could be shifted to the left side, where he has played in the past. Harvey, who scored in New York, will be tasked to help the seventh-place Whitecaps, 4-4-4 heading into Saturdays game in Seattle, grab one of the five playoff berths available in the Western Conference. Knighton said the trade gives Rochat a chance to play a key role with a struggling D.C. squad that sits last in the East with a 1-10-2 record. United is minus-18 in goal differential, having allowed 24 while scoring just six. "Alain will provide us immediate help with his experience and leadership," said United general manager Dave Kasper said in a statement. "He is a highly technical and intelligent player who can play on the back line or in the midfield." The trade adds to many travels that Rochat has made during his career. He started in the pro ranks with Switzerlands Yverdon Sport FC in 1999 before moving to Swiss club BSC Young Boys in 2002. He later excelled with Stade Rennais FC of France from 2005-06 prior to joining Zurich. He helped Zurich win a pair of Swiss Super League titles in 2006-07 and 2008-09. But the latest move comes at a challenging time personally for Rochat. His wife is expecting the couples fourth child. "Thats the tough part for us -- when somebody tells you to just leave at the drop of a hat," said Whitecaps goalkeeper Joe Cannon, who also started with the team in 2011. "(Rochat) was one of the original guys here -- and theres not many of us left." ' ' '