Klay Thompson sat on the floor in the middle of his teammates and pointed to his ”2018 NBA FINALS” hat during a locker-room photo.

An important face was missing from the moment: Andre Iguodala.

In a postseason defined by uncertainty for the defending champions Authentic Mark Andrews Jersey , Golden State could be without one of its top defenders as the Warriors chase a repeat title – taking on LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in a fourth straight NBA Finals matchup.

Iguodala’s status for Game 1 on Thursday night is a question as he recovers from a bone bruise in his left knee, which caused him to miss the final four games of the Western Conference finals against Houston. Cleveland’s Kevin Love is in concussion protocol, so he might not be ready, either.

Coach Steve Kerr has said Iguodala, the 2015 Finals MVP, will return when he can run without pain. The Warriors sure could use his presence against King James, who is making an eighth straight Finals appearance.

”We’re still without Andre, which is a big blow for us,” Kerr said before Monday’s Game 7 at Houston. ”In a different way. He’s not a scorer for us as Chris (Paul) is for Houston, but a huge component. So you go through the playoffs and things happen, and you’ve got to be able to bounce back no matter what and keep going.”

Last month, Kerr became concerned his team’s defense wouldn’t return to its top form after Golden State struggled late in the regular season and even endured a particularly poor stretch in which the Warriors dropped seven of 10 games.

Yet here they are in a familiar spring spot as June approaches.

Once the buzzer sounded and the 101-92 Game 7 win over Houston was official, the Warriors could exhale. It hasn’t been pretty for much of these playoffs Dante Pettis Jersey , a far cry from that remarkable, record-breaking 16-1 romp through last year’s postseason.

There is clearly some relief to be back where this All-Star group expected to be all along.

Stephen Curry kept the game ball tucked under his left arm long after Monday’s game, toddler daughter Ryan held in his right arm.

Kevin Durant hugged general manager Bob Myers, while always-animated Nick Young beamed wearing his Finals hat and ”Champions of the West” T-shirt, then enjoyed hoisting the shiny trophy.

Draymond Green smooched his 1-year-old son, Draymond Jr.

Back home, fireworks went off in the East Bay as everyone anticipates another battle with King James.

”There’s a lot of just built-up anxiety, I guess, about this moment. When you walk off the court with a win and get this fancy hat, it’s a good feeling,” Curry said. ”We had to work for it, and you’ve got to appreciate the moment. Somebody asked, `It’s four years in a row getting to The Finals Authentic Rhys Hoskins Jersey , do you appreciate it?’ Yes, because it’s really hard. So all the smiles and embraces you have with your teammates, your coaches, it’s well deserved.”

Golden State struggled to hit shots for stretches. The stars went through funks and the Warriors had to play catch up time and again – including from double-digit deficits in the final two games to beat James Harden and the 65-win Rockets on their home court after settling for the second seed in the West.

James has willed his Cavs this far, saying, ”I don’t know how I can compare it to other seasons because I can only think about this one in the present.”

”Definitely a different team but we know everything goes and stops with LeBron James with them,” Green said.

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Baker Mayfield is leaving the college hijinks on campus.

Now that he's in the NFL, the brash quarterback who became a household name at Oklahoma as much for throwing touchdown passes as taunting opponents, intends to clean up his act.

"I'll be very competitive, but the other stuff, obviously it can't happen," Mayfield said. "I know that."

A day after the Cleveland Browns made Mayfield the surprise No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft, the 23-year-old spent part of his introductory news conference discussing how he has matured and learned from past on-field incidents that made him more polarizing and could have soured teams from wanting to select him had they gotten the chance.

His Heisman Trophy-winning season was speckled with foolishness.

Before facing Texas Tech Cheap Tremaine Edmunds Jersey , the school where he began his college career, he entered the stadium in Lubbock wearing a T-shirt that had "TRAITOR" written on the front. He also famously celebrated a road win at Ohio State by taking a victory lap and attempting to plant a Oklahoma flag at midfield in the artificial turf.

But those paled in comparison to his actions during a game at Kansas. Reacting to the Jayhawks' captains for refusing to shake his hand before the game, Mayfield returned to the sideline following a TD drive, ripped off his helmet, grabbed his crotch and screamed expletives toward Kansas players.

Oklahoma punished him by not allowing him to start his final home game in Norman and coach Lincoln Riley stripped him of his captaincy against West Virginia.

Looking back, Mayfield said he regrets the "stuff" he did and that going forward he has to redirect his emotions.

"That was absolutely over the top," he said. "But there's a fine line. You need to be competitive, but a lot of that you can internalize and use that as motivation to drive you. You don't have to show it all the time. ... I can use that for behind the scenes when nobody's around, the film, the hours you put in."

Mayfield also learned from an arrest in February 2017, when a night out with friends in Fayetteville, Arkansas, turned into an arrest for public intoxication Marcus Davenport Youth Jersey , disorderly conduct and fleeing.

The Browns did extensive vetting of the incident, so much so that general manager John Dorsey said he knew what Mayfield had ordered from a food truck before his run-in.

Dorsey felt comfortable enough with Mayfield to make him his signature pick, the fresh face of a franchise in perpetual rebuilding mode.

"He is very mature. He is very smart," Dorsey said. "We all learn from our mistakes. I have learned from my mistakes in the past, too. I am better today than I was a year ago. I have no problems with a young man being allowed to understand the mistakes he makes, and let's move forward."

Mayfield says he's done just that.

"I do not think I would be sitting right here unless I had made those strides," he said. "Without those mistakes, later on down the road I might have had slip ups, but now I can learn from them and be able to move forward."
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