FanHouse HamedHaddadi

DENVER -- Forget about a Tar Heel against a Dukie or a Kentucky Wildcat against a Louisville Cardinal. This is a lot different.

On Monday night in Sacramento, an Israeli player could face a player from a rival Middle East Muslim nation for the first time ever in the NBA.

Kings forward Omri Casspi is the first man from Israel ever to play in the NBA, and has three games under his belt. His team at Arco Arena next plays Memphis, which features center Hamed Haddadi, a second-year man from Iran.

Before his Grizzlies met Denver on Sunday night, Haddadi told FanHouse he never has faced an Israeli player on the court because teams from his Iran, which does not recognize the Jewish nation, are not allowed to play Israel. In 2005, Haddadi said his Iranian team was not allowed to go to Argentina for the 2005 FIBA World Championship for Young Men because of the possibility of Israel being an opponent.

But Haddadi has no problems with facing Casspi.

Iran, which placed its first player in the NBA last season, is the champion of Asian basketball after a lopsided 70-52 win over China in Tianjin Sunday. Iran had also won the title in 2007, though China fielded a 'B' team in order to prepare for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Before 2007, Iran had never so much as medaled in its previous 11 FIBA Asia appearances, while China had claimed gold in 14 of the previous 17 tournaments.

The AFP reports Chinese coach Guo Shiqiang has come under fire by Chinese fans and press for the embarrassing home loss. If I may offer Guo a defense, he might just repeat "YAO MING" over and over again. Yao, of course, is not playing with the Chinese team for the first time in nearly a decade, due to injury. He tends to matter quite a bit. (See: Grizzlies back-up singer Hamed Haddadi going for 19/17 in the championship game.)

NBA Essentials provides the must-see links, quotes and videos of the day.

-- " 'You know, my issue with the players is that they're not working hard enough,' Jackson said Tuesday night. 'They're saving steps. When you do that, you try to get by without having to exert yourself enough to win games the right way. And Kobe is one of those people who is doing that. He's measuring out what it takes to win a ballgame. This is a veteran who's been through a lot of seasons. We just have to shorten his minutes a little bit to keep his legs live.' " -- Los Angeles Daily News

NBA Essentials ranks our six favorite stories of the day.

1. Memphis Commercial-Appeal. During practice, Memphis GM Chris Wallace gives Hamed Haddadi a thumbs up, the Iranian equivalent of the middle finger. Eek.

2. Cleveland Scene, via everywhere. Mo Williams will bring his 60-second Q&A show and a love for meat sandwiches to Cleveland.

3. Associated Press. Gerald Wallace is pretty cavalier when it comes to trade rumors: "I said, 'Well, I'm in Alabama with my kids. Call me if I've got to move.' That was it."

4. The Sporting News. The coming revolution in NYC.

5. Newsday. Quentin Richardson is tired of being looked down upon by other players because he's a Knick.

6. Simon on Sports. The season's a month away, but Nets tickets are already half-price.

After receiving pushback from the federal government for visa issues, Iranian center Hamed Haddadi (or Ehadadi or Hadadi, depending on the source; the league is going with "Haddadi") got permission to join the NBA, and Memphis has signed him. It's not known whether it's a guaranteed deal, based on the Grizzles' press release.

Will Haddadi help? Memphis has a weird, weird frontcourt. Marc Gasol played well but not amazing in Spain last season, and will be a rookie. Darko Milicic is ... Darko Milicic. Hakim Warrick is a livewire who will still be raw when he's a 12-year veteran. Darrell Arthur is only 20 years old, and couldn't play center in Billy Knight's dreams. And then there's that shooting guard masquerading as an occasional power forward Antoine Walker. Oodles of fun.

I don't know what Marc Iavaroni will be thinking in a month. Darko and Warrick looks right, but if I'm a Grizz fan I'm praying Gasol and Arthur develop quickly. Where does Haddadi fit into that? I imagine on "the bench" is the right answer, though we'd all love to be surprised.