LOWRY DOUBTFUL TO PLAY

Monday brought good and not so good news for the Raptors on the injury front.

Kyle Lowry was termed “doubtful” by head coach Nick Nurse for Tuesday’s game in his native Philadelphia due to his troublesome back. Lowry missed Sunday’s win over the Los Angeles Clippers and 10-of-11 games earlier in the year thanks to back soreness.

Backs can be tricky and Lowry has dealt with back problems in the past, so this is a truly sub-optimal situation for the Raptors moving forward. His shooting has been off, which may or may not be related to the injury.

The team has now gone 8-4 without Lowry in the lineup and 11-3 without Kawhi Leonard, but to get anywhere, both all-stars need to be in consistently and in sync with each other and the rest of the team.

On the positive front, big man Jonas Valanciunas, out since having his thumb dislocated back on Dec. 12, is expecting to return sometime during the upcoming three-game trip, Nurse told reporters on Monday.

Valanciunas is now a full participant in practices and joked, “I’m still here,” when asked how it felt to get hit on Monday in the hand.

He and Lowry were both listed as doubtful for the Sixers game, though Valanciunas has given Philadelphia star Joel Embiid some trouble in the past so the team would surely love to have him in the lineup.