Tall Black guard Hayden Allen will miss both games for the Otago Nuggets this weekend.
The 33-year-old's wife, Natalie, gave birth to the couple's second child on Tuesday - Mack, a brother for Reggie.
But that is not the main reason he will not front for the Nuggets against the Taranaki Mountain Airs tomorrow or the Southland Sharks on Sunday. The potent outside shooter picked up a knee injury in the 97-74 win against the Waikato Pistons at the Edgar Centre last weekend and is expected to be sidelined for up to three weeks.
''I just gave it a bit of a twist last week, unfortunately,'' Allen said.
''I didn't think too much of it at the time. It is not ideal but it is a blessing in disguise because now I can stay up here for the weekend.''
Allen lives in Auckland and commutes to play for the Nuggets. His experience will be sorely missed.
In his absence, Riki Buckrell and Luke Aston are likely to play a lot more minutes. Allen is in no doubt the pair can step up.
''To be honest, they did bloody well without me in Hawkes Bay, so I'm sure they can continue on.''
When Allen missed the 81-74 win against the Hawkes Bay Hawks last month, Aston stepped up with nine points in 22 minutes.
