STEPH 'TOEING' THE LINE
By MARC BERMAN


February 22, 2007 -- PHILADELPHIA - Stephon Marbury has a bad case of "turf toe" and canceled his Caribbean All-Star Weekend plans for treatment, The Post has learned.

With Marbury already plagued with a tendinitis-wracked knee, the turf toe on the big toe of his right foot presents now and even stronger problem, especially on the second nights of back-to-backs. The Knicks have nine more sets of back-to-backs, including last night's conclusion set against Orlando and Philadelphia.

Marbury, who turned 30 on Tuesday, said at this point, his toe feels way worse than the knee and there's still a chance he might have to miss games to rest it. Marbury had 12 points with four assists, three steals and one turnover in last night's 104-84 loss to the 76ers.

Marbury developed turf toe during the West Coast trip before the break. It's an injury that only goes away with long-term rest.

"My toe's bothering me," Marbury said. "I'm trying to go out and do what I'm supposed to do. At this point of the year, me getting turf toe, that was just freaky. It isn't something like a lingering injury from my knee. That's something that just happened."

Must be the shoes.