Jerry Stackhouse's comeback has been put on hold.
Stackhouse isn't satisfied with how his foot has responded since his return from a three-month layoff. He met with coach Rick Carlisle Monday and it was decided he would be de-activated to give him more time to recover.
"I'm a little down, but I'm not where I need to be,'' said Stackhouse, who did not make the trip to San Antonio. "I don't want to take minutes away from guys who deserve to be out there at this point.
"It's hard, and it put him (Carlisle) in a tough position, too. I know he wants to try to get me back, at the same time, where is the balance? We need to win games.
"Instead of putting myself and my teammates in a bad position, we thought it was best to step back and let me work it out on my own.''
Stackhouse opened the season and played until Nov. 14 when the pain from plantar fasciitis and a bone spur in his heel became too great. He missed 45 consecutive games and returned four days ago against Houston.
The veteran guard failed to score and was 0-of-5 from the field in his two games. He played a total of 21 minutes and was never comfortable, saying he was tentative on the court.
"The foot isn't right,'' Carlisle said.
Stackhouse said his return last week had more to do with his heart than his head. He will continue to work on regaining his strength and intends to return.
"No way have I given up on this season,'' Stackhouse said. "I'm going to try to get back at some point so I can help.
"Hopefully, in the next week or two, I'll start to feel the progress.''
_ David Moore
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