DALLAS – Dallas Mavericks forward Harrison Barnes thought about the strained right hamstring that has sidelined him for his team’s first three preseason games and tried to put it in his proper perspective.

Barnes’ injury will also keep him out of the Mavs’ preseason finale, which is Friday at 6 p.m. at American Airlines Center against Charlotte. In addition, it may prevent Barnes from playing in the Mavs’ regular season opener on Oct. 17 in Phoenix.

But Barnes is a big picture guy. And he told Mavs.com that he’d rather suffer a little now than have to be in a position to suffer down the road.

“You want to be out there opening day, but at the same time we’re trying to build something,” Barnes said on Wednesday prior to paying for 80 kids to see the screening of the movie The Hate U Give at the Studio Movie Grill. “The injury is coming along well and I’m just making progress every day.

“The goal is to play in the first game. But if I can’t do that, just make sure that I’m taking the time to get 100 percent healthy and be ready to go.”

Coach Rick Carlisle said he’s unsure if Barnes will be ready to play on opening day against the Suns.

“He’s improving – very light court work and no running – so we’ll see,” Carlisle said. “His availability for opening night is going to depend on whether he can get some significant live practice in before then, and we just don’t know right now.

“He’s not going to play in any games until he gets some significant practice time beforehand.”

Barnes, who led the Mavs in scoring the past two seasons, was injured during the first week of training camp.

“We were just in a scrimmage and I kind of felt (the right hamstring) a little bit pull and I kind of kept playing through it,” he said. “I’ve never really had a muscle strain before, and I kind of went on a fast break.”

The injury, Barnes reiterated, is not something he desires to rush back from.

“I’ve got to sit with the training staff,” he said. “I’m just trying to do everything I can to follow the protocol and go from there.”