There is Marreese Speights, the rookie who was supposed to need perhaps the entire season to adjust and adapt to the pro game, but has shown a willingness to learn at a faster rate, not to mention a fearlessness at either end of the floor.

And there is 34-year-old Theo Ratliff, who had played a total of 8 minutes through the first 14 games before surfacing for an effective 17:50 in Wednesday night's 96-94 loss to the Orlando Magic.

To this point, the Sixers' energy guys had included Thaddeus Young, Andre Iguodala, Willie Green and, sporadically, Lou Williams and Reggie Evans. But Williams has been erratic and Evans has barely played.

Enter Ratliff, who was signed as an emergency man when Jason Smith was lost for the season because of knee surgery. He was asked to try to cope with Dwight Howard, the Eastern Conference's best center who has a chance to become the fifth player since 1973 to lead the league in blocks and rebounds in the same season, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Walton, Hakeem Olajuwon and Ben Wallace.

Howard's Achilles' heel has been foul shooting. He came into the game at a weak 54.3 percent, and the Sixers preyed on that. But as much as they were hurt by the late three-point daggers of Anthony Johnson and Rashard Lewis, they had to be frustrated by Howard (21 points, 14 rebounds) dropping in six of eight free throws in the fourth period.

"I did what I've done throughout my career, being a lock-down defender, trying to help my teammates, seeing what's going on, trying to help them get open shots," Ratliff said. "Any big guy who wants to get to the rim and dunk, you want to move your feet, put a body on him, make sure he doesn't get the offensive rebound. Unfortunately, he was making his free throws. That was a surprise to everybody."

A buzz went through the Wachovia Center crowd, announced as 14,985, when Ratliff entered the game in the first quarter. A buzz apparently also went through the players.

"Our No. 1 thing is, when we play good defense, we have good offense," Iguodala said. "Theo, when he's in the game, he sets that tone defensively. He just lets guys know about stupid fouls. If a guy beats you, [he says he's] going to block it; he says he'll help me out [with a rebound]. He's talking; there's no indecision. He knows exactly what he's going to do."

Iguodala also said, "I think he's going to get more minutes."

Ratliff won't be able to play long minutes every night, but he can still be a factor against bigger opponents, and coach Maurice Cheeks has shown a willingness to use two big men in some situations. What must change is the number of unforced errors.

The Sixers, who had been down as many as 12 points in the course of the evening, vaulted ahead, 78-72, with 10:10 remaining and were still up four on a 16-foot jump shot by Elton Brand with 1:15 left. But their five turnovers in the quarter, including one by Iguodala at 1:53 that was followed immediately by Dalembert fouling out, came back to haunt them.

"Those types of mistakes will kill you in the end," Ratliff said. "That's what gave them the opportunity to come back and hit a big shot to win. It's a matter of concentration. It's not about being young. All these guys [other than Speights] have had experience in the league now for some years.

"It's about paying attention to the details and making the sure play. We've got to keep concentrating on doing the little things . . . We did a lot of things we weren't doing the [previous] few games, which gave us a chance. If we focus on the defensive side of the ball, we'll be pretty good."

Tribute to a teammateMagic rookie Courtney Lee had to go through the painful process of accepting the death of Danny Rumpf, his roommate and teammate at Western Kentucky. Lee, from Indianapolis, was going into his sophomore season in college; Rumpf, from Parkway High in Philadelphia, was about to become a senior.

But May 8, 2005, in the midst of a pickup game at Mallery Recreation Center, Rumpf became a victim of hyperthopic cardiomyapathy, an abnormal growth of muscle fibers on the heart muscle. It's generally considered a genetic disease, showing no symptoms, affecting one in 500 people.

Lee, who wears Rumpf's No. 11 in tribute, has stayed in touch with Rumpf's family, and has been supportive of the Daniel Eric Rumpf II Foundation, which is hopeful of someday having the Mallery Rec Center's name changed in Rumpf's memory.

The foundation also is raising funds to help provide defibrillators and emergency equipment for rec centers in the city, and to provide two $500 scholarships each year. The first scholarship was awarded to Jarred Wright, of Caravel Academy in Delaware.

"We just want to make people aware of the disease," Lee said. "Just tell them to go get tested."

Anyone interested in contributing to the foundation may send donations to P.O. Box 4967, Philadelphia PA 19119.

Six shotsThe Sixers, now 7-8, visit the defending champion Boston Celtics tonight. The Celtics are 14-2 after coming from 14 down in the third quarter to defeat the Golden State Warriors, 119-111, on Wednesday night. *

For more Sixers coverage, read

the Daily News' Sixers blog, Sixerville, at

http://go.philly.com/sixerville.