Video: Playing defense from the bench

Coaches will always tell their players to stay involved in the game when they’re on the bench. Cheer your teammates on and provide moral support, it’s very beneficial. Well the Orlando Magic’s Quentin Richardson took it a step further against the San Antonio Spurs.

If you look at the video (via BDL), you can see Q-Rich literally closing out on Danny Green from the bench. He comes in screaming, and probably affected Green’s shot. Granted, Green went 0-5 from beyond the arc for the game, so Richardson probably didn’t need to include the theatrics anyway, but I guess it couldn’t hurt. I haven’t been able to check the NBA rulebook on this one, but I don’t think that’s illegal, is it?

Video: Q-Rich’s voice box is a defensive stud from The Basketball Jones on Vimeo.

I’ve seen players yell and taunt from the bench, trying to screw up their opponents, it’s part of the game. But I’ve never seen a player actually act like he was trying to play defense from the bench, this is a new one for me. I’d love for this to start becoming a thing just for the comedic value, but in terms of the game, it seems a little wrong.