Jeff Caplan has an article on Gerald Green and his understanding that he has a lot of work to do before he's set as a regular part of the rotation.

"What I have to do is just be ready. That’s the situation," Green said. "My number can be called at any time. Getting down on myself is not going to help me, it’s only going to hurt me.

"All I got to do is be ready to play and hopefully my number gets called, and if it doesn’t, I’ll just cheer my teammates on and just go day by day."

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Sefko writes about LeBron James before his only visit of the season to Dallas.

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Carlisle on Antoine Wright and the starting shooting guard position.

"I told him [Wright] he’s doing a lot of good things and to build on those and be ready. Things can change very quickly," Carlisle said. "The communication part of it is always the most important, to let guys know what’s expected."

Carlisle did not want to disclose who would start at shooting guard tonight against Cleveland.

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It sounds like Barea will be playing again tonight.

"He's back healthy now, which is important," coach Rick Carlisle said. "That knee injury that happened in Detroit was tough for him because he's the kind of player who needs to be at 95 or 100 percent to have all of his quickness and his juice out on the court. He's better now, and that's a real positive."

Barea said it was a "little bit of a surprise" that he didn't play in the opener.

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John Hollinger on the Mavs pace this season.

After just a single game, here's one prediction I can make with confidence: The Dallas Mavericks will not be 23rd in pace factor this season. The most notable development in the Mavs' 112-102 opening night loss to Houston was all the running they did -- with 23 fast-break points in the first half against one of the league's slowest, stodgiest defensive teams. In his Daily Dime report, Mr. Line quoted a scout saying the Mavs would play the fastest pace in the West, and while that's a serious stretch in a conference that includes Denver and Golden State, I could easily see Dallas being third.

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Around the NBA:  The Thunder have won a game.