SAITAMA, Japan - Dirk Nowitzki is the most dangerous player remaining in the World Basketball Championship, but the Dallas Mavericks star will have trouble lifting Germany past the Americans into the semi-finals.

Dirk Nowitzki, pictured (R) against Nigeria, is the most dangerous player remaining in the World Basketball Championship, but the Dallas Mavericks star will have trouble lifting Germany past the Americans into the semi-finals.[AFP]

The 2.13m forward who led Dallas into the National Basketball Association Finals will try to spark Germany to an upset of the undefeated US NBA lineup here Wednesday in a quarter-final playoff game.

"The US is obviously the favorite to win it all but you never know until the games are played," Nowitzki said. "This is a good group of guys. We've been around each other for a long time."

Nowitzki, 28, is averaging 24.5 points and 10.3 rebounds a game, the best numbers for any player whose team has reached the final eight.

"Hes an amazing player," US guard Kirk Hinrich said. "He poses unbelievable matchup problems for any team. He poses a real challenge."

Other NBA players in the US lineup know all-too well how talented Nowitzki is from his Mavericks heroics and respect both him and his teammates.

"Dirk is one of the best players on the planet right now, probably one the top five players on planet Earth," US forward Shane Battier said.

"Hes tough to stop. I dont know if you can stop him? It will be all of jobs to make him as inefficient as possible and make him take tough shots."

US co-captain LeBron James knows that containing Nowitzki is only half the battle with Nigerian-born captain Ademola Okulaja and Demond Greene capable of punishing teams that focus too much of their efforts on the NBA All-Star.

"They have one of the premier players in our league in Dirk," James said.

"Weve got to do a great job in trying to contain him and try to make sure we contain some of the others on their team also. We dont have to change what we do. We have to get out and put defensive pressure on them."

That means tight man-to-man coverage at all times on Nowitzki in a bid to make him work for every possession, fight for position on every shot and to exhaust him before he can impose himself as a force to ignite an upset.

"There is no special strategy to take Dirk out of a game. You just have to have a guy on him at all times, make him work for the ball," said US forward Antawn Jamison.

"Once he gets the ball in his hands he is able to create shots not just for himself but also for his teammates. Once he gets it going offensively, his teammates feed of it and it becomes a difficult task.

"We definitely want him to take tough shots and we dont want to allow him to get into a rhythm."

US coach Mike Krzyzewski will be ready to adapt his defensive scheme to whatever troubles Nowitzki might cause.

"You want your guys to be instinctive and we need to do that against Germany and Dirk, but we also need to make subtle adjustments to our defense," he said.