DeMarre Carroll wants to rejoin the Toronto Raptors before the regular season is over, but finding the time to get the prep work he needs is going to be the greatest challenge for the Raptors.

The thing Carroll needs more than anything as he keeps coming back from January knee surgery is full NBA game speed and contact, things the Raptors can barely afford in practice as they get ready to open the playoffs in about a week and a half.

With full practice days in short supply — likely no more than two before the end of the regular season — Carroll may have to get any full action in games, whether he’s ready for it or not.

“The last three or whatever games there are when he comes back we will use those as his test lab,” coach Dwane Casey said Monday. “No disrespect to those teams but (he needs) to get some work in, get some run in, get knocked down a few times, get hit a few times and see where he stands.”

Carroll went through most of Monday’s practice — he sat out the times the Raptors worked on plays specific to Tuesday’s opponents, the Charlotte Hornets — and then played a lengthy game of two-on-two with Jason Thompson against the Brazilian duo of Lucas Nogueira and Bruno Caboclo.

Carroll knows it’s not optimum preparation for a return after three months on the sidelines, but it’s all he’s going to get.

With six games — two back-to-backs — between now and the end of the season a week from Wednesday, the clock is working against him. But the good news was there were no immediate issues Monday.

“When I was working out before, I could feel the swelling when I was working out and now I don’t feel nothing so that’s a good sign,” Carroll said. “We just keep pushing it and, hopefully, I keep playing two-on-two, three-on-three, four-on-four and Coach is ready to put me in and call my number and I’m ready to play.”

Carroll said he has spoken to the team’s medical staff and hopes to start with a 10- to 15-minute limit and increase his workload from there. That may seem ambitious to some degree but games next week at New York (Sunday), at home vs. Philadelphia (Tuesday) and on the road in Brooklyn (Wednesday) might be feasible, although a back-to-back situation might be asking too much.

One thing the Raptors will continue to do is to not put any pressure or definite timeline on any return. Carroll admitted the true test of Monday’s workout will come when he sees how he feels Tuesday morning. Casey isn’t interested in playing a daily update game.

“We’ll see how his body responds,” Casey said. “I will not put an ‘if’ or ‘what’ or anything on any of that. If his body responds and he can go, then he is going to be out there because he is by far one of our best perimeter defenders.”

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