Jason Richardson leaps off the bench to play defense

 By Eric Freeman | Ball Don't Lie  

Last Thursday, we noted a bizarre play in which Orlando Magic wing Quentin Richardson, on the bench at the time, screamed in Danny Green's ear during a 3-pointer. It was a weird way to play defense, both in terms of standards of sportsmanship and general NBA player comportment. Nevertheless, a guy has to do what he can to help his team win, and sometimes that involves playing defense from the bench.

Still, that's an extra bit of defensive help to the five guys on the floor — it's not as if Q-Rich leapt off the bench and ran on the court to be an extra defender. But apparently he was just setting the stage for such a move, because that's exactly what fellow Magic shooter Jason Richardson (no relation) did during their Monday game against the Boston Celtics. Check it out above via our friends at the Yahoo! Sports Minute.
It turned out to be a big help, too, because he knocked the ball away from Greg Stiemsma, who almost certainly didn't expect someone to appear magically from out of bounds. Since, you know, that tends not to happen in a professional basketball game with security guards and coaches.
Of course, J-Rich had good reason to jump, because the Magic only had four players on the court. Incidentally, it seemed as if they were playing a man down at the offensive end most of the night, with Orlando setting franchise records for fewest points (56) and fewest field goals (16) on their way to a 31-point loss. Maybe the referees should have told them to let people jump off the bench whenever they wanted. It might not have even made a difference to the result.

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