Josh Howard out tonight at Portland

Josh Howard is out tonight nursing a sore knee and should see action tomorrow night at Seattle. Howard said he’s feeling fine, but Avery Johnson is taking the cautious approach since the small forward isn’t 100 percent.

Jerry Stackhouse won’t suit up on this trip. The plan now is for Stackhouse to play in the regular season finale against New Orleans at home. Stackhouse wanted to play against the Sonics, but it was decided that another couple days of rest, plus a hard practice Tuesday, would be the best course.

“He’s getting in extra work and the target is for him to keep working out these next two days,” Avery Johnson said. “We’ll give him a day off on Monday, he’ll have a hard practice on Tuesday and play in the game on Wednesday.”

Though he wanted to play tomorrow, Stackhouse doesn’t view sitting out both games as a setback.

“I wanted to get back on the court and be there, if you know what I mean,” he said. “That’s the main thing. I passed the biggest hurdle by getting out there. To feel the basketball again [in practice] is a great feeling. I’ll play in the last game of the season.”

In addition to Howard and Stackhouse, JJ Barea is inactive tonight.