LAKERS NOTEBOOK: HE'S OLDER, WISER - AND HE'S READY.

Byline: Steve Dilbeck Staff Writer

He offered no pretense, didn't even feign hiding his excitement. When A.C. Green was introduced prior to the Lakers' first public scrimmage, he unexpectedly sprinted around the UC Santa Barbara gym, beaming while high-fiving the public.

So what can be expected when Green makes his official homecoming appearance with the Lakers in their Staples Center opener?

Apparently, something very different.

``It will be time for work,'' Green said. ``I can be pumped up and excited and all that, but I get all that in and out of me in the preseason.

``When it comes down to the regular season, my game face kind of comes back on, and my game mentality. I get down to business and I'm more focused. Of course, there's still going to be excitement, but I don't think anyone is going to be able to notice.''

Make no mistake, however, Green is excited to be back where he began his NBA career - and a record 1,028 consecutive-games streak - as a rookie out of Oregon State in 1985.

Despite spending the past five seasons with Phoenix and Dallas, Green continued to live in Los Angeles during the offseason. And at age 36, he returns in a much different role. He's not the wide-eyed rookie joining a championship team but the veteran trying to help show a young team how to be a champion.

``It's good being at home, sleeping in my own bed, going to my home church,'' he said. ``Most of my friends in my adult life have pretty much been here. Those things are always good. It's part of a complete circle from a career standpoint.

``And it's a good team, a team you feel has a lot of potential but has a lot of bad habits, too. You have to try and help them overcome those bad habits. It's not like I don't make the same mistakes or have some of the same tendencies, but they have to correct me and I have to correct them. We have to learn about accountability and responsibility toward one another.''

The 6-foot-9 Green could emerge as the Lakers starting power forward. Though his numbers have been in decline over the past three seasons - he averaged a career-low 4.9 points and 4.6 rebounds per game last season for the Mavericks - he continues to give full effort on a team in need of it.

``A.C. is as steady a person as I've ever met, in terms of his effort and quality,'' said Lakers assistant coach Jim Cleamons. ``He's going to give you everything he has in his tank and you're going to be happy with it.''

Green played for Cleamons in Dallas, where he initially ran the triangle, so he already has some experience with the Lakers' new offense.

He returns to Los Angeles claiming to be close to the player who left. He had the same scores on the team's exhibition-season quickness tests as he did as a rookie.