Avery not sacrificing wins

Jerry Stackhouse sat out at Indiana even though he wasn’t injured. Stackhouse himself admitted being surprised by the move.

Avery Johnson has made it a point this season to keep his team fresher, both mentally and physically, over the 82-game season and into the playoffs. For some, though, the perception is that he’s sacrificing wins now. Johnson was asked as much today after practice.

“Let me rephrase this because I want to make sure of the word,” he said after a brisk one-hour workout at American Airlines Center. “We’re not sacrificing wins. We don’t want to say that. That’s not what we’re saying. We want to win. I think I’ve been pretty consistent. We are trying to win all games, okay?

“With my basketball team, since I’ve been the coach, I know Dirk Nowitzki’s body, I know Stackhouse’s body, I know Jason Terry’s body, I know Devean George’s body. If I see some sort of danger that they may have with their recovery, then I’m going to limit minutes or they maybe will not play because our theme for this year is to try to stay stronger longer and have something in the tank when we need it. That’s our whole thing.”