One Weakness of Each Top NBA MVP Candidate

Every NBA player has a weakness, including MVP candidates.

While much of our time is spent worshiping the talent that MVP-caliber athletes bring to the table, even more time is spent overlooking the flaws and inherent blemishes of their game.

As the regular season winds down and the race toward league MVP intensifies, though, scrutiny will prevail and the weaknesses of the NBA's biggest stars will not be as overlooked.

And in the case of more than one, it will be these suddenly broadcasted deficiencies that prevent them from contending for the league MVP award any further.

Derrick Rose, PG Chicago Bulls

Weakness: Perimeter shooting

Derrick Rose is as adept at getting to the rim as anyone in the NBA, but he is not nearly as effective from the outside.

While Rose has improved his jump shot a great deal, there is much to be desired from the reigning MVP's perimeter prowess.

For his career, Rose has converted on just 31 percent of his three-point attempts. It's not a terrible mark, but for a point guard with his scoring capabilities, it is unfavorably noticeable.

With Rose, you know he has the tools to improve; the general mechanics in his shooting motion are there, his shots from the outside just tend to fall flat, either from rushing his attempts or a lack of lift from his legs.

Fortunately for Rose—or unfortunately, depending upon how you look at it—his injuries, not his mediocre jump shooting, will be what prevents him from repeating as league MVP. 

Dirk Nowitzki, PF Dallas Mavericks

Weakness: Interior defense

The same penchant for hovering on the perimeter that makes Dirk Nowitzki one of the greatest of all time on offense, also renders him a liability on defense.

Nowitzki often receives criticism for his lack of defensive prowess, but the truth his, he's a fairly decent perimeter defender. He's familiar with the lateral moves it takes to score and has good anticipation off the ball.

Nowitzki's problem is in the paint, which, given the position he plays, is somewhat of a paradox.

The explosion and force the power forward uses to get to the rim on offense does not carry over to the other end. Nowitzki is often overpowered, outmaneuvered and just plain outworked in the low post.

While the Mavericks would be—cliché on the way—nothing without Nowitzki, his interior deficiencies have burned them more times than one on defense, especially without Tyson Chandler to pick up the slack.

Chris Paul, PG Los Angeles Clippers

Weakness: Too unselfish

Chris Paul has transformed the Clippers from a top-five lottery team into a playoff-bound one, but even the best point guard in the league is not without flaws.

Paul is having another ferocious season. He's posted an average of 19.3 points, 9.1 assists and 2.5 steals per game and amid a lockout-truncated schedule, has put all questions regarding the strength of his knee to bed.

But he has an Achilles heel in his tendency to be overly unselfish.

Even though Paul is scoring more than he did last season, it's easy to see he often makes one too many passes and can be reluctant to take advantage of open looks. 

When in transition, instead of attacking the basket, Paul is more likely to look for the highlight lob. And at this stage, his serial passing tendencies go beyond natural instincts and into the realm of being too self-aware.

So, while Paul's absolute state of selflessness can be a blessing, it can also be a motivating factor behind turnovers and missed opportunities.

Dwight Howard, C Orlando Magic

Weakness: Foul shooting

Let's move past the obvious detrimental-to-the-team-dynamic conflict Dwight Howard presents and focus on an even more obvious area of concern for the center: foul shooting.

For his career, Howard has knocked down just 58.8 percent of his attempts from the charity stripe. He has hit new lows this season, though, with a success rate just over 49 percent.

The nightmare that is Howard's free-throw shooting goes beyond just leaving points on the board. His accuracy from the line is so horrific that we are actually bearing witness to opposing teams employing a hack-a-Howard game plan.

The Magic would be a bona fide lottery team without Howard, but until the big man isn't liable to lose games down the stretch by misfiring on uncontested shots, his MVP candidacy must be taken with a grain of salt and dash of skepticism. 

Tony Parker, PG San Antonio Spurs

Weakness: Three-point shooting

Tony Parker has been phenomenal this season, except from long range.

Parker has converted just 25 percent of his three-point attempts this season. He is a career 31 percent shooter from downtown and has averaged over 35 percent from behind the rainbow only twice over his 11-year career.

While the point guard prefers to earn his keep via floaters, mid-range jumpers, drive-and-kicks and finger rolls, it is disconcerting to witness a player of his caliber actively passing up open looks from long range.

His three-ball deficiencies also allow defenders to leave a little extra space between them and the ball to protect the lane.

Even despite this glaring weakness, Parker has put up MVP-caliber numbers and pushed the Spurs to the top of the Western Conference.

However, imagine how much more formidable an opponent, and much more viable an MVP candidate, he would be if he was a legitimate threat on the outside.

Steve Nash, PG Phoenix Suns

Weakness: Defense

There isn't much Steve Nash does wrong, unless he's playing defense.

Nash is one of the greatest offensive playmakers to ever grace the hardwood, but his shortcomings on the defensive end are, at times, truly staggering.

What's even more mind-blowing, though, is the lack of tangible evidence to validate such a notion.

Nash's effort on defense is clearly visible. He moves his feet, doesn't rely on his hands and rarely leaves the floor for ball fakes. And yet, even with the proper stances and mechanics, there is a lack of execution on the point guard's part.

Attribute it to absence of aggression. Attribute it to poor anticipation. Hell, attribute it to an innate defect that won't allow him to be effective defensively.

The fact is Nash, a two-time MVP and unbeatable floor general, is more than exploitable on the defensive side of the ball. 

Kobe Bryant, SG Los Angeles Lakers

Weakness: Shot selection

If there were any doubts as to how important Kobe Bryant was to his team—though there shouldn't have been—they were erased on the heels of a 20-point beatdown dealt to the Kobe-less Lakers by the Suns.

Despite Los Angeles' obvious need to put the ball in the hands of Bryant, though, the shooting guard has struggled his entire career to balance shooting with passing.

Bryant's career average of 4.7 assists per game doesn't scream "facilitator," but he is a sound passer, albeit with questionable decision making. There are games when the Black Mamba dishes out nine assists and then there are games when one or two seem to suffice.

While Bryant is an inconsistent passer, the same cannot be said of his penchant for shooting. He has averaged less than 20 shots per game only once since 2000.

And you know what? Under the circumstances, that's okay. What's not okay is that since he made his transition from explosive rim-rocker to habitual jump shooter, he, on multiple occasions, doesn't know when to stop shooting.

The Lakers need Bryant to shoot, but not necessarily in the reckless manner he does.

Kevin Love, PF Minnesota Timberwolves

Weakness: Perimeter defense

Kevin Love's low-post defense is not liable to swarm the stat lines, but it is far more effective than most give him credit for. His perimeter defense...well, that's a different story.

Currently, the NBA is not only in the age of the point guard, but also the age of the stretch 4. These are the power forwards who stretch defenses through their ability to score anywhere on the court. And this is the type of forward Love has developed into.

However, while Love has established himself as one of the premier stretch forwards, he has proven he cannot defend many of his counterparts.

When defending the wing, Love leaves far too much room between him and the ball. This allows opposing players not only to shoot over him, but leaves the East and West open for them, and that's a problem considering Love possesses little lateral quickness.

This added space also provides offenses with more of an opportunity to run the pick-and-roll, which Love also has a tough time defending.

This season, more than ever, Love has proven how much of a star he truly is, but he's also shown the offensive tactics that he thrives off of can be used against him on the other end.

Kevin Durant, SF Oklahoma City Thunder

Weakness: Strength

Kevin Durant is 6'9" and weighs 235 pounds. By comparison, LeBron James, who plays a similar offensive game, stands at 6'8" and weights 250 pounds.

That's a problem, maybe not so much now, but down the road.

Many often point fingers at Durant's defense, but the small forward has taken great strides to improve his awareness, anticipation and execution on that end of the floor.

And next on his to-do list should be adding some bulk to that lanky body of his.

Durant's explosiveness is undeniable, but there will reach a point when his frail body can no longer withstand the beating it does when he takes the ball to the rim. And while Durant is a skilled jump shooter, his cuts to the basket are not weapons his arsenal can afford to forfeit.

The Thunder's time to win is now, but the future cannot be put on the back burner; Durant must take steps to ensure he is nowhere near limiting himself anytime soon.

LeBron James, SF Miami Heat

Weakness: Closing

Sometimes, there doesn't appear to be one weakness in LeBron James' game.

James is a threat to score from anywhere on the court, one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA and a triple-double threat every night.

However, with the game on the line, James does have a tendency to shy away from "the moment."

This goes beyond fourth quarter stats, and it most certainly goes beyond the small forward being ranked the 17th most clutch player in the league.

James can execute whenever and from wherever—we've all seen it. His knack for deferring to others down the stretch, however, is not indicative of the greatest player of all time some make him out to be.

The killer instinct that carries James through the first 95 percent of the game just isn't there in the closing minutes, or even the closing seconds.

And for an athlete who craves the satisfaction that comes with hoisting the Larry O'Brien trophy into the air and donning a championship ring, that's a problem.

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