Jonas Valanciunas will be absent from the Toronto Raptors’ starting lineup Friday against the Miami Heat after his wife gave birth to a baby boy named Jonas Jr. on Thursday night.
According to Raptors coach Dwane Casey, the child does not possess the size of his father as Jonas Jr. weighed in at under eight pounds.
The gift of life is beautiful, but the timing could not be worse for the Raptors, who have lost nine of their past 10 games and have dropped 16 straight against the Heat.
Valanciunas is averaging 12.0 points and 8.6 rebounds on the season, shooting 56 percent from the field and 80 percent from the free-throw line.
Toronto currently sits in fourth place in the Eastern Conference while Miami has a precarious hold on the East’s final playoff spot.
