Kobe Bryant: 5 Predictions for Kobe's Toughest Season Yet

Injury, frustration and off-the-court melodrama have plagued a season that has been the ultimate in mediocrity. Things are about to change for Kobe Bryant and the L.A. Lakers. 

We sift through the many seasons of the Black Mamba and happen upon one so frustrating and riddled with injuries and mediocrity that it drives most Lakers fans mad. 

Kobe Bryant had to play through the annoyingly meager 2004-2005 season, but we could argue that rebuilding a winning team was part and parcel of a new and exciting challenge.

That season saw the Lakers out of the playoffs for the first time in 10 seasons, and a Lakers-loving L.A. mourned.

However, the 2011-2012 campaign has been nothing but unending defeat.

They came into the preseason with the hope of landing Chris Paul and were instead turned away by a flippant commissioner.  

The ensuing chaos saw the Lakers lose their Sixth Man of the Year in Lamar Odom. Before the first tip-off, the Lakers were worse off than last season and had issues with depth—not really the way you want to bring in a new head coach. 

Then there was the wrist injury sustained by Bryant that pretty much nixed a prolonged offseason of getting the knee healthy. 

It seems that no matter what Bryant does, he is destined to play banged up and injured. The wrist may now be healed, and the Lakers are getting used to life behind the Clippers. 

There are some changes on the horizon. 

There is no way that Bryant will settle for second-fiddle. This is a franchise that lives by the mantra of go big or go home. 

I fully expect a myriad of events to take place before this season ends, and it will be born of a frustratingly mediocre start to the season. 

5. He Will Score 50

Bryant has a way of coming out and defying odds and wide-open teammates to put up an amazing number of points in one game. 

I will be the first to scream that he should pass the ball, and with Andrew Bynum down low, this would be the perfect season to start sharing the love. 

However, scoring has been a difficult prospect for the Lakers this season, and there is not a consistent answer on that side of the court. 

Bryant has scored 50 or more points 25 times in his career. The last time he did that, though, was back on February 2, 2009 when he dropped 61 on the Knicks. 

He has already had four 40-plus games this season, and one in which he scored 48 points. With the wrist feeling all better and the knees looking years younger, this is the perfect season for him to breach the 50-point mark once again. 

4. Lakers Will Bring in Ramon Sessions

From Chris Paul and Dwight Howard to Ramon Sessions and Gilbert Arenas, the Lakers have bandied about a myriad of options to make them better. 

While they flirted with changes that would have made them championship contenders at the start of the season, they are now looking at deals that would simply make them more youthful. 

Derek Fisher is banged up and Steve Blake is on the mend.

The Lakers need new blood, and they need it now. 

These are not the old Lakers, though. They don't pull off epic trades—instead they deal Lamar Odom for cash and ponder mediocre guards like Ramon Sessions. Don't hold your breath for a blockbuster trade, because none are coming. 

CBS Sports reports the Lakers are interested in Sessions, and the Cavaliers want a first-round pick. Couple that with a lukewarm interest on Gilbert Arenas, and you have the ideal candidate in the Cavaliers guard. 

3. Lakers Will Take the Pacific

The L.A. Clippers are the real deal, but they will find out that losing Chauncey Billups was far worse than they thought. 

Even bringing in another guard would hardly make up for the leadership and calming presence a veteran like Billups brings. 

I don't expect the Clippers to completely fall apart, but I see a Lakers squad with a younger guard, as we predicted, to go on a hot streak that would put the Clippers back in the rear-view mirror. 

The Lakers are still learning Mike Brown's offense, are without crucial backup guard Steve Blake and are still only two games behind the Clippers. There will be a switch up top shortly. 

2. Kobe Bryant Gets Better of LeBron James

The Lakers were embarrassed when they took on the Heat earlier in the season in Miami.

They will be far better prepared for the star-studded eastern power.

On March 4th, the Lakers welcome the Heat to L.A. for a purple-and-gold beating. 

The Lakers play very well at home this season, and would have had a couple months to gel. More than that, Bryant just won't let his guys allow a loss to happen. 

I am sure he has already marked this down and circled it in Sharpie for all his teammates to see and remember. This will be an emotional game that Bryant will want to win. 

1. Lakers Fall Short in the Playoffs

This is not the Lakers' season. 

That fact should be evident to every fan that sits down and watches them regularly.

While they were a piece short last year, they are far less deserving this go-around. 

I see them fighting the good fight but falling well short of the title that Bryant still hungers for. I wouldn't be shocked if they were bounced from the second round with a team that has been mired by fits of soft play. 

They need a younger point guard, depth off the bench and another star that can help lift the load. The fact that they will not answer all of these issues by the end of the season means they are currently fighting a losing battle. 

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