<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">DALLAS -- Flip Saunders must feel like Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki has been around forever. Believe it or not, though, Nowitzki is just 28 years old and in his ninth NBA season. Provided he stays healthy, he's probably only at the midpoint of his career. "He's going to be a Hall-of-Fame player," said Saunders, who coached against him four times a season when Saunders was with the Timberwolves. "He is going to go down in history as the best 7-foot shooting forward that ever played." High praise, indeed. "In our league, there are probably five guys you consider to be so tough, that you change everything you do against him," Saunders said. "He's one of those five guys." The other four are Steve Nash, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Shaquille O'Neal. Odd Saunders didn't mention Kevin Garnett, whom he coached for nine seasons. "KG isn't going to dominate you," Saunders said. "KG is such a great passer that most teams have decided to play him straight up and take whatever he gives you. He's so unselfish, he's not going to get 40 points. He's going to try to get others involved. "Dirk is the type of guy that if you don't guard him the right way, he will put 50 on you. He's got that dagger in him where he's looking to destroy you from an offensive standpoint." Pistons forward Rasheed Wallace has had some success guarding Nowitzki. That continued, even though Nowitzki scored 29. Wallace countered with 19 points and nine rebounds.</div> Source
