Illegal Play???

[Rich1]

Had the following in a game and was wondering if it was a legal play (it just did not look right):

4 members of Team A lined up tightly shoulder to shoulder next to the sideline and the 2 middle players continually passed the ball between them in their front court. The defense could not get close to the ball and close guard count could not start because no one held the ball for more than a second.

I know that they cannot line up like this during a throw in to prevent the defense from getting into position, but what about during live ball play?