George is out & Stack still in

Devean George is suffering from back stiffness and won’t play tonight against New York at American Airlines Center. George met with the team doctors this morning and didn’t attend shootaround.

Avery Johnson appears to be sticking with the Jason Kidd-Jerry Stackhouse guard combo after a successful debut Saturday. Stackhouse scored 20 in only his third start, while Kidd dished out 13 assists in the easy win over New Jersey.

Jason Terry had started the previous eight games with Kidd before returning to the bench. (George started Kidd’s first game back.) Stackhouse adds size to the backcourt, which alleviates some of the defensive pressure on Kidd and Terry.

“We like the look because it’s hard when Kidd has to guard those Kobe Bryants and McGradys when Jet is in the lineup,” Johnson said. “We may have gained some stuff on offense, but we thought we suffered severely on defense.

“Now Kidd can play the point guards like he’s used to. We wanted to give Stack a try because we also feel that other guy who’s in the lineup has to be a guy that can score, which is tailor made for Kidd’s skill level.”