KNICK NOTES

MINNEAPOLIS – Rehashing his departure from Minnesota is one of Stephon Marbury’s least favorite subjects. For a few years after his messy divorce from Kevin Garnett, Marbury was greeted by a hostile reaction from Target Center fans.

“I’ve been gone for five years,” Marbury said. “If they’re still booing, that’s on them.”

Pundits still second-guess Marbury for leaving Minnesota and missing out on forming what could’ve been one of the NBA’s best guard-center tandems with the 7-foot Garnett. Marbury praised Garnett last season when he said he’s a lock for the MVP. He was. And yesterday, Marbury added, “Last season, he was the best player in the NBA. Our bigs have their hands full.”

Garnett, in turn, won’t discuss Marbury. Two weeks ago, when the Knicks faced the T-Wolves in South Dakota, The Post asked Garnett about Marbury’s growth. The normally mild-mannered Garnett snapped, “I’m not talking about him.” Garnett added, “We don’t talk.”

Regardless of Marbury’s Minnesota past, Knicks president Isiah Thomas thinks it’s important for Marbury to play against the Western finalists in tonight’s opener.

“He gets to see what he’s chasing,’ Isiah said. “That’s to become a great team and one of the elite teams. I would say if you look at it realistically, one of them is 6-1, the other is 7-foot tall. It’s a different path, a different challenge for a small man to become dominant in a game dominated by 7-footers.

“I encourage him to keep banging his head against the wall because there aren’t a lot of small men dominating when you’re fighting against a giant. He’s trying to figure it out.”

And it’s why Thomas would love to provide Marbury with an All-Star big man. “We’re trying to set the table that it possibly could happen here,” Isiah said. “It’s a tough challenge to try to do what he’s trying to do in terms of winning a championship and being the small guy to drive it. It’s not easily done.”

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The winner of the Atlantic Division should read the fine print on its championship. Under the new format, the division champion automatically gets one of the top three seeds but not necessarily homecourt advantage in the first round. For instance, if the Knicks win the Atlantic, they likely would get the third seed, with the thinking the Central Division winner (perhaps Detroit) and Southeast Division winner (Miami?) would have the better record. The catch is the Knicks, at No. 3, would play the sixth seed, but would not have homecourt advantage if the sixth seed has a better record than them. It’s unlikely but not impossible considering how weak the Atlantic is.

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Latrell Sprewell, who last weekend asked for a trade if he can’t get a maximum contract extension, will play after missing much of preseason with ankle sprain.

“It’s always fun to play against the Knicks. Especially the way it ended for me there two years ago,” Sprewell said. “It’s one of the games you look at the schedule and your eyes get wider.”