Nicks' Crows and Luke Beveridge's Dogs meet on Friday night in a highly anticipated clash between two of the AFL's most potent attacks.
But Nicks would prefer the Adelaide Oval fixture not turn into freewheeling, high-scoring affair.
"The game seems to be a little faster, it seems to be a little harder to defend," Nicks said.
"You look at the stand rule and how it's being implemented now.
"Teams are working on how to expose that by playing a little bit stronger offensively now - especially the Bulldogs, who are really strong in that space.
"But I don't know about it being a shootout as such. We're not looking for that.
"If it opens up and we're scoring as much as they are, that's great, let's entertain.
"But I think that would be dangerous against the Bulldogs because they have got so many weapons."
The Crows and Dogs boast arguably the best tall attackers in the league - Riley Thilthorpe at one end, Sam Darcy at the other.
And both captains are game-breaking midfielders - Adelaide's Jordan Dawson and the Bulldogs' Marcus Bontempelli.
But Nicks, asked what concerned him most about the Dogs, cast his thoughts wide.
"Where do you start?" he said.
"For one, they're in some rare form. They'd be the form team in the comp and have put some really strong weeks against high-quality opposition together.
"The challenge is all over the ground.
"We come off playing a team that has got Nick Daicos in it, to a team that has got Marcus Bontempelli.Â
"They're a lot better than just Bont, but he's probably in some of his best form we have seen, so big challenges for us."
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