Raptors' DeMarre Carroll: Plays in back-to-back

Carroll was restricted to 20 minutes in Thursday's game, as it was the second game of a back-to-back, TSN's Josh Lewenberg reports. He finished with two points (0-2 FG, 0-2 3Pt, 2-2 FT), four rebounds and one assist in 19 minutes.

Analysis:

He didn't quite get to his 20-minute cap, but it was a step in the right direction, as Carroll was allowed to play in back-to-back games Wednesday and Thursday -- something he had not been doing to this point in the season. Of course, his production suffered dramatically Thursday, so it wasn't a great night from a fantasy perspective. However, with Patrick Patterson suffering a knee strain Thursday, Carroll will be a crucial part of the Raptors' frontcourt depth in the short term, so it would not be surprising if he continued to play almost every game going forward. Even with the lack of depth, he will still likely be kept under 30 minutes per game.