USA faces Germany, Nowitzki

SAITAMA, Japan -- The bracket says the United States will be facing Germany in the quarterfinals of the FIBA world championships Wednesday.

In truth, the U.S. is facing Dirk.

"Man, they have Dirk," U.S. point guard Chris Paul said. "He's one of the best players in the NBA and one of the best players in international ball as well."

Everyone here is on a first-name basis with Dirk Nowitzki, the Dallas Mavericks' star forward who has joined the ranks of the one-name basketball stars.

There's Kobe, Shaq, LeBron and Yao. And Dirk.

"He's an amazing player," U.S. guard Kirk Hinrich said. "He poses unbelievable matchup problems for any team, either in the NBA or here. "

In Dallas, Nowitzki is the best player on a talented team. In Japan, he is the best player on a team without another NBA player.

Nowitzki leads the tourney's remaining players in scoring, at 24.5 points per game, and rebounding, at 10.3 per game. His 46 field goals are nearly double the total for his next-highest teammate, Demond Greene, who has 24. Nowitzki also leads his team in assists, steals and turnovers.

Nowitzki scored 47 points -- and made all 17 of his free throws -- to carry the Germans past Angola in triple-overtime in group play. When Spain limited Nowitzki to 14 points, the Germans were blown out 92-71.

Germany probably needs something in the 47-point range if it hopes to stun the red-hot Americans, who are 6-0 and have won their last two games by a combined 216-131.

"Obviously the U.S. is the favorite to win it all here, but you never know," Nowitzki said. "Every game has to be played."

Bronze medalists at the FIBA World Championship four years ago in Indianapolis, Germany came to Japan hoping to take another step. If the Germans had beaten Spain, they would have avoided the U.S. until the final. But a second-place finish in their group made them run into the U.S. in the quarters.

The game may have a strange feel for Nowitzki, who is friends with many of the Americans. After Germany escaped with a 78-77 victory over Nigeria Sunday, Nowitzki embraced U.S. trainer Casey Smith, who is also the Mavs' head trainer.

"For him, facing these guys night in and night out, he's going to be fired up because he's representing Germany against them," said German guard Johannes Herber, who played at West Virginia. "But we're not a one-man team, and he won't be facing them alone."

Nowitzki isn't the only German with a personal connection to the U.S. team. Forward Ademola Okulaja teamed with U.S. forward Antawn Jamison at North Carolina from 1995-98, reaching two Final Fours.

"It's going to be crazy," said Okulaja, whose 10.0 points per game rank third for Germany. "Hopefully, I can win against him and have a little bragging rights."

The game will also be a rematch between Nowitzki and Dwyane Wade, who led Miami past Dallas in the NBA Finals. Wade said he thinks the U.S. will have to throw platoons of defenders at Nowitzki.

"It's tough to stick Dirk in the NBA, and it's going to be even tougher over here because he's got even more of a green light than he's got with Dallas," Wade said.

Nowitzki may have a green light, but he's run into stop signs in this tournament as opponents clutter the lane and try to force him to shoot jumpers. Nowitzki is a deadly long-range shooter but has made only 30 percent (10-for-33) of his 3-point attempts in the tourney.

"It's not 1-on-1 and 2-on-2 like it is in the NBA because of the defenses," Nowitzki said. "In FIBA basketball, there is no illegal defense. So the paint is always packed. There's nowhere to go." After leading Germany in points (23), rebounds (9) and assists (5) against Nigeria, Nowitzki was engulfed by German reporters asking about the coming showdown with the U.S., which hadn't even tipped off against Australia. But if Nowitzki is feeling any additional pressure, he didn't show it.

"He can handle pressure," Okulaja said. "He does it every time. He led Dallas to the NBA playoffs, and I think there's a bit more pressure there than here. He's used to pressure, and he excels under pressure. I think for him it's going to be a regular game."