It’s getting late for hobbled rook Early

Coach Derek Fisher said Cleanthony Early’s ankle issues have occurred often enough that it appears to be a chronic condition and he said the Knicks rookie has to focus more on preparation in trying to prevent such injuries.

Early missed his second straight game Wednesday with a sprained left ankle as the Knicks lost, 10286, to the Pacers at the Garden. It’s the third time this season Early has missed a game due to an ankle sprain, and Fisher said the ankle woes date to when Early was in college at Wichita State.

Fisher talked about the prep work he would like Early to do more of to keep him from getting reinjured. Early will be back either Friday or Saturday.

“You turn an ankle once, things change. I don’t know if you ever get 100 percent,’’ Fisher said. “The chances of it happening again is more likely the more you do it. That’s why you have to remain diligent and a lot of the correctives you need to do before practice and before activity to offset and stabilize.… So we have enough signs at this point that we need to look at things differently in addressing his ankle.’’

Early, Phil Jackson’s first draft pick as Knicks president, had knee surgery for loose cartilage in late November, igniting his badluck rookie year. Early fell to the second round ( 34th pick) in the draft, but therewas no sign he could have been damaged goods.

Carmelo Anthony made his first appearance on the Knicks’ bench— or specifically the row behind the bench— since his February knee surgery. Anthony won’t sit on the actual bench because of safety issues.

“It’s good to see I guess but he hasn’t abandoned us whether he sits out there or not,’’ Fisher said. “He’s still a key leader to our team.’’ New St. John’s coach Chris

Mullin sat on celebrity row. ... The Knicks signed 6foot7 guard Ricky

Ledo for the rest of the season after his second 10day contract expired. ... Ledo scored six points and had three assists against the Pacers, but Fisher said he is passing up too many shots to feed teammates.