Making a sizable difference

WALTHAM -- Call it the little lineup that could. Emphasis on "little."

Playing a lineup of 6-foot-1-inch Rajon Rondo, 6-2 Allan Ray, 6-3 Delonte West, 6-7 Ryan Gomes, and 6-10 Al Jefferson, the Celtics engineered comebacks from a 21-point deficit against the Wizards Saturday and a 23-point deficit against the Spurs Monday.

As San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said, "They didn't play small. They played very small."

What the group lacks in size it makes up for in speed, experience (at least on the college level), confidence, and fearlessness. Those qualities make the Celtics competitive, though Boston was unable to pull out a win in either game .

"I'm simplifying it, but Rajon was in college, Ryan Gomes was in college, Delonte was in college, Allan Ray was in college," said coach Doc Rivers. "They have been through stuff before. So they have the ability to stay focused and not get down on themselves.

"You can scramble the game up and they can rotate and trap by reads easier. As crazy as it sounds, they've done those things [on the college level] and it does help them. And they're all shot-makers. That's another thing that helps."

Turning necessity into a virtue, the Celtics have filled the void left by leading scorers Paul Pierce and Wally Szczerbiak with the small lineup. Rondo, Ray, West, Gomes, and Jefferson provide thrills, whether it is with a clutch 3-pointer from the corner by West or a theft by Rondo that Tim Duncan never saw coming. Sometimes the only disappointment is that Rivers cannot keep the small lineup on the floor more.

With 6:55 remaining in the third quarter against the Spurs and the Celtics trailing by 21, Rivers replaced Gerald Green with Ray. Less than two minutes later, with the Spurs holding a 23-point advantage, Rondo replaced Kendrick Perkins. Those two substitutions put the small lineup on the floor, where it remained until virtually the final seconds (Sebastian Telfair and Green made cameos).

In a stretch of 17:16 over the third and fourth quarters, the small lineup outscored the Spurs, 44-23. Although West and Jefferson made their share of contributions, from big shots to rebounds, the most impressive contributions came from Rondo and Ray.

The rookie guards continue to step up for the injury-depleted Celtics. While Ray was knocking down 3-pointer after 3-pointer, Rondo was driving to the basket for a 3-point play and free throws, not to mention coming up with big steals and assists.

The small lineup works best when Rondo is distributing the ball to players like Ray.

"I think it's an easy chemistry because we do it so much in practice," said Rondo. "We're going to try to keep working on it and do well in the game with it. Everybody is unselfish. Everybody on the court is looking for each other and we get along well on the court."

"It is the NBA," added Ray. "It's not like college where you get down by 21 and the game is over. There's a lot of time left in the game and we understand that. We just go out there and we know we have to bring a lot of energy.

"With a team like San Antonio that wants to come down the court, execute their half-court sets, if you speed them up a little bit, it gives you a great chance to win."

The Celtics' small lineup has yet to come up with a victory. But the "little lineup that could" could do it soon.

Szczerbiak (sprained ankles, sore left knee) and Brian Scalabrine (sprained right MCL, bruised right meniscus) practiced yesterday at the Celtics' workout facility. They even played a little one-on-one after the team workout. Both will be evaluated today to determine whether they can play tonight against Atlanta at the TD Banknorth Garden. But judging from the way they moved on the court and by the comments of Rivers, it seemed likely that they will be back tonight. "They both looked pretty good," said Rivers. If one or both takes the court tonight, Rivers did not anticipate restrictions on minutes, though he jokingly added: "By tomorrow I'm sure there will be, especially for Wally. I'm sure he'll come up with something." . . . Even if there are more extra players available to play the Hawks, Rivers noted that the rotation "won't change a lot." Szczerbiak will not start.

Shira Springer can be reached at springer@globe.com.