Practice notes: Cleanthony Early could scrimmage as soon as next week

Looking for some happy Knicks-related news? How about the continuously improving help of Cleanthony Early. Kurt Rambis weighed in on the injured sophomore forward, and said he could see some scrimmage action next week. Per Marc Berman:

Early (gunshot wound) could scrimmage as soon as next Monday, but it might be with the Westchester Knicks. Rambis said the Knicks considered bringing Early on their West Coast trip to participate in Monday's practice in Denver, but they are leaning instead toward keeping him here to work with the D-League team in a rehab situation.

Cle was shot in the knee in a Dec. 30 robbery attempt, so getting back to even the most casual of basketball activities after only two months seems like a positive sign.

In other injury-related news, Arron Afflalo is questionable for Tuesday's game. He had an MRI on his knee:

Rambis said MRI on Afflalo's knee was negative.

— Al Iannazzone (@Al_Iannazzone) February 29, 2016

That's a little odd considering it was his thigh that kept him out of Sunday's game:

.@LangGalloway10 will start in place of Arron Afflalo (thigh) tonight. #NYKvsMIA

— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) February 28, 2016

Whatever. Let's focus on someone infinitely more important to the franchise. Carmelo Anthony sat out Saturday's practice as a precautionary measure and then played pretty much ALL of the minutes on Sunday. Here's what he had to say:

Carmelo on his knee: "I'm just trying to win basketball games. It's not about me worrying about my knee, worrying about anything else."

— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) February 29, 2016

Here's a ranking of things Melo should be worried about right now:

1. His knee.

2. Helping his son with his homework.

3. Polishing his watch collection.

4. Finding deli that makes a quality turkey sandwich.

5. Trying to win basketball game.

Please, Rambis, don't play Melo so many minutes!