KNICK ENVY can be a terribly debilitating affliction. If you’re keeping score at home, Stephon Marbury obviously is ailing from at least one deadly sin. Agent David Falk is diseased by the other six.

Talk about impeccable timing. You’d think the Nets’ hood ornament would’ve been muted by his infertile three-field goal (11 tries), eight-turnover misadventure in Sunday’s 15-point home loss to his favorite team. Instead, Marbury saw it as an opportunity to savage Chris Childs and Charlie Ward.

“Think” being the cogent word of that paragraph. Had Marbury used his oblongata as a Timberwolf, he would’ve complimented the Knicks’ playmaking impersonators (you see, Stephon, trashing them is our job) after each meeting, as opposed to devaluing them with every breath.

Dispersing a little credit might’ve scammed Kevin McHale into thinking Childs (and a very high lottery pick, which the Knicks tried to obtain by offering Latrell Sprewell) was sufficient compensation for Marbury.

Who knows, as well as Childs is conducting himself this season (clearly the Knicks’ most consistent player, whatever that’s worth), he might’ve felt comfortable enough to start ahead of Bobby Jackson.

At any rate, imagine the venomous vitriol Marbury will demonstrate toward Childs and Ward should he ever outplay one or both of them.

As I understand it, Falk is covertly shopping Marbury. Stephon realizes he’ll never be the man at the Meadowlands as long as Jaime Feick is around. *THROW OUT the first 17 games and the Clippers flaunt a relatively excellent progress (5-14) report. In fact, the Paper Clips “almost” have a better record against Western Conference playoff teams than the Rockets (5-10 against the rest of the top eight).

Following Sunday’s setback in Utah, Houston’s eighth straight regular season loss to the Jazz, Charles Barkley was overheard to spew, “What we lack is Clipper toughness.”

Four of the Clips’ five wins were recorded against the Jazz, Blazers and T’Wolves (twice). The Kings (No. 9 in the West) were their fifth victim. All Iknow is, if the Clips make the playoffs, they’ll be dangerous.

After getting elbowed near his left eye in the Suns’ win, and retiring early for the night, Greg Ostertag showed up active and angry for the game against the Rockets. The consequence was his most productive outing (15 rebounds, 11 points, five blocks) in almost two seasons against the Rockets. He felt so frisky afterward he threatened to Osterslap Shaq’s bodyguards.

It’s about time Karl Malone got suspended and fined for his base play. VP of Violence Rod Thorn had no choice but to sit down the leading MVP candidate one game for punching Othella Harrington. Meanwhile, he constantly gets away with deliberately kneeing (see Luc Longley and Brent Price), elbowing (too numerous to name) and bullying opponents.

As for Dikembe Mutombo, once again the league has seen fit to slap him on his elbow for his dishonorable intentions. See Childs’ toothless, retaliatory threat. Neglecting to respond judiciously ($7,500 fine is meaningless) to Mutombo’s flagrant activity is hard to comprehend.

How far can the Lakers be expected to go if Dennis Rodman still needs so much practice going to practice? If you ask me, they’re in no danger of becoming legitimate title contenders until they begin to judge themselves as harshly as they criticize their teammates. That, and deciding to play help defense, which means arriving in time, most of the time, to cover for each other’s mistakes. The Sonics were the first team to so much as fake a defensive stance in the second half Sunday, if you’re wondering why they prevailed.

Then again, congratulations to Vin Baker for his 7-of-10 performance at the foul line in that Laker victory. He’s taking advantage of his free shots more than I am these days.

As a result of beating the Nets, Dave Checketts allowed Jeff Van Gundy to use his EZ Pass to get back across the Hudson River. … Don Nelson has sent Ernie Grunfeld his resume just in case there’s a coaching opening, with a note attached, “You haven’t seen my best yet.” … After his 19-point, eight-rebound effort, Marcus Camby wrote John Calipari’s name on his jewelry. Detractors have nicknamed Camby “Magazine.” They say he only comes to play once a week. … Tawana Brawley has offered to represent Sprewell in his appeal.

A sure sign the Bulls hit rock bottom: They scored a mere 49 against the Heat, a number less than Jerry Krause’s waist size. … Vince Carter, Sean Elliott and Bryon Russell (twice) have lit up Scottie Pippen in the past few weeks. Instead of complaining about his lack of involvement in Houston’s offense, Pippen ought to be more concerned about getting involved in its defense. … Headline we’re guaranteed to see: WNBA Suffering Labor Pains.

Shawn Kemp’s upset reading the rave reviews being accorded Chris Webber on account of his 33 double-doubles this season. “Sure, he’s ahead of me,” Kemp conceded. “That is, if you want to limit it to on-the-court stats.”

The Sonics sandwiched wins over the Blazers and Lakers around a loss to the Grizzlies. “Some days they’re just so impotent,” Kemp allowed, “so you know I can’t figure them out.”