Cleanthony Early Needs to Make His Mark Now for New York Knicks

With Carmelo Anthony out for the rest of the season, the New York Knicks are in full-on tanking mode, which should mean plenty of playing time for the less experienced players on the roster.

Of particular interest to the Knicks will be the play of rookie Cleanthony Early, who many thought was a steal in the second round of the draft.

To date, Early has played in only 21 of New York's 56 games this season, missing time with injuries to his knee, hip and ankle.

In the meantime, a number of the Knicks' younger players have stepped up and made a name for themselves. Langston Galloway, Cole Aldrich and Quincy Acy all look like keepers (at least for bench roles), and even Shane Larkin is improving as the season progresses.

Through no fault of his own, Early is the only player on the team who hasn't shown much on the court, be that positive or negative. Due to his small sample size, there isn't much to go by in determining whether or not he has a long-term place on the roster.

Elise Amendola/Associated Press/Associated Press

Simply by virtue of his minimum-salary contract and the dynamic offensive talent he displayed in college, Early should be back in 2015-16, but the final stretch of the year is still of the utmost importance for him. He needs to establish himself as a one of the team's better prospects ahead of an offseason in which the Knicks are expected to make some major changes.

Early is still finding his feet, but having appeared in four straight games, there's finally hope that he's ready to make his mark. In his most recent outing against the Boston Celtics, he recorded eight points and four rebounds in 24 minutes, marking his best performance since early January.

Again, highlights have been few and far between for Early, but two particular games stand out when looking back at his season so far. Back in November, he dropped 12 points, including going 3-of-5 from downtown against the Brooklyn Nets. And in January, he put up 16 points on 60 percent shooting against the Houston Rockets. In both games, he logged over 15 minutes, which has only happened for him on 10 occasions.

A short stint in the NBA D-League saw Early average 21 points, 10 rebounds and two steals in three games, playing over 41 minutes a night. It may have been against weaker competition, but this was definitely a sign that Early can impress given significant minutes.

Based on the playing time he got with the Westchester Knicks, injuries shouldn't be a major concern anymore. At this point, there's no reason for head coach Derek Fisher not to start featuring Early in his lineups now that a Melo-sized hole has opened up at forward.

Of course, Andrea Bargnani will want minutes too after returning from his injury, but the Knicks should be thinking of the future right now, and Early is the only one of the two who's likely to be back next year.

Fisher certainly sees talent in Early, according to Newsday's Al Iannazzone, but admits that he's yet to find his place in the NBA:

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As a young player, or any player who is trying to solidify an opportunity for himself: Find what it is you can do to just help the team. So defense and energy and being a guy that plays with passion is what attracted everybody to him and why we drafted him. Those are the things you want to see from Cle every night, and if he makes a shot we'll take that, too.

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Bearing in mind that the Knicks could be active in the trade market this summer, there are no guarantees when it comes to Early's future with the franchise. At the moment, it looks like he'll be staying, but a strong finish to the season is needed to solidify his place on the team.