"The receptionist at the John Jay student center was telling a friend on the cell phone Wednesday morning that he'd just spotted Stephon Marbury, local legend. Heading to a shootaround in the fourth-floor gym, Marbury left a swath of gawkers in his wake.

Villain or hero, take your stand. Fans jeered him heartily Wednesday night, each and every time Marbury touched the ball during Boston's 115-111 victory at the Meadowlands. He may not be in full flight quite yet, but Marbury appears comfortable enough in green.

"The Celtics weren't the bad guys (back in Coney Island)," Marbury said. "I just didn't want them to win. Now I'm sitting on the bench saying, 'We've got to win this game.' The legacy the Celtics hold is breathtaking, when I see all those banners."

He is honestly, transparently happy. Of course, this is New-Arrival Marbury, not I-Can't-Believe-These-Bums-Are-My-Teammates Marbury, a persona that can reappear at any moment. But there is some reason to think he may finally have found his basketball Camelot. At age 32, Marbury can still break down defenders on the dribble. On a defending championship team, he can't possibly resent passing the basketball to such a world-class cast of stars.

That was always the source of Marbury's problems, says Don Casey, the former Nets coach who baby-sat the whole Marbury Legend starting a decade ago. Long before he was a failed Knick, Marbury was a self-sabotaging Net.

You remember, "All Alone," scrawled on his sneakers? Many of Marbury's past tantrums can be traced to his unalterable belief he was so much better than his teammates, starting with Keith Van Horn."