Marbury plans to play Monday when the Knicks host the Indiana Pacers. He had missed four straight games after briefly trying to return following the Dec. 2 death of his father, Donald.

Looking noticeably thinner, Marbury said he started working out again a few days ago. He has appeared in just two of the past seven games.

"Eventually I was going to have to get back into it," Marbury said. "So I knew that I was going to have to start working out and getting myself back into it mentally and emotionally."

Marbury acknowledged it was difficult going back to Madison Square Garden last Saturday night, where his father was watching the Knicks' loss to Phoenix on Dec. 2 when he began experiencing chest pains. Don Marbury was taken to a hospital and died before the game ended. Stephon Marbury was told of his father's death minutes after the final buzzer.

He missed the next game, then played in the next two after the funeral. The latter was at the Garden, and Marbury was not with the Knicks the next day for practice.

"It was kind of tough and just the whole ambiance of what happened and being back in the same position was tough," Marbury said.

Knicks coach Isiah Thomas said he would decide Monday if Marbury would start, but noted his conditioning could be a problem.