Ever since their loss Monday to Sacramento, the Lakers held Utah and New York to a combined 50 of 157 (31.8%) from the field. Part of that reflects the opponent. But it also reflects the Lakers' improved defensive effort. Below is a recent Q&A with Lakers assistant Chuck Person, whose role partly has involved teaching Mike Brown's defensive philosophies.

What's your overall evaluation on the team's defense?

Obviously it's a change on the impact of the ball. We're an aggressive team and we attack the ball on the weak side. But the responsibilities remain the same. The guys have picked it up really well. We're ahead of where we thought we would be with our guys showing like they are. They're putting forth a great effort in what we're asking them to do defensively.

In what respects are they ahead of the learning curve?

For being a team that forced pick-and-rolls down on the side for so long and dropping in the middle, to go from that to now showing on the side and the top is a big change to a body that you have to do it every time. We did it some in the past on some players, but we do it all the time through the time here.

So it's now funneling through the middle?

Yes, but there was never a funnel. It's just a matter of redirecting the ball in a certain direction from the aggressive show. We're not forcing anything middle. We're not forcing anything baseline. We are forcing things on the midcourt line so they have to veer out when they go downhill and on the side. When we play man-to-man, we influence that on the sideline. It's not to the baseline. It's to the sideline. We make sure we stay in front of them.

The Turkish basketball team Besiktas just doesn't know how to take no for an answer.

The team also apparently doesn't know how to take Kobe Bryant's cue that he doesn't like it when things are leaked about him. But in a move that shows how desperate and publicity hungry this organization is, Besiktas President Yildirim Demirören has flown to Los Angeles to meet with Bryant and agent Rob Pelinka on Thursday at 1:30 p.m., according to Ismail Senol of NBA TV in Turkey.

But don't expect any fireworks. NBA.com's David Aldridge as well as Yahoo! Sports' Marc Spears and Adrian Wojnarowski report that there's a 0% chance Bryant would play for Besiktas, which has signed New Jersey Nets guard Deron Williams to play this summer. 

Other links below the jump:

The enthusiasm, the dogged work ethic and an understanding of the scrutiny that he'll face as Lakers coach can only carry Mike Brown so far.

He instantly won over management during his job interview because of that infectious enthusiasm and his detailed plans on defense. With the Lakers coming off a four-game Western Conference semifinals sweep at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks, the players will surely enter the 2011-2012 season with motivation and an eagerness to embrace Brown's ideas. Regardless of any obstacle that Brown faces, he maintains that he'll simply outwork and out-prepare everyone else. 

But hard work and love for the job can only take Brown so far, particularly when the expectations in Lakerland points to championship or bust. Below are five things Brown must manage to succeed as the Lakers' coach. 

1. His relationship with Kobe Bryant.

The great Mark Heisler reported this summer that Brown won Bryant over during phone conversations, when they met in Orange County and at the Lakers' practice facility in El Segundo, as Brown shared in detail his offensive and defensive philosophy. Credit Brown for his persistence with Bryant after the front office's failure to consult the Laker guard gave him a hard set of cards to deal with right away. But that's just going to be the first of many big tests awaiting Brown. 

The first moment involves when Bryant veers away from the offense or is caught sagging back on defense. It's a tight balancing act in managing Bryant, something even Phil Jackson sometimes struggled in doing. There may be contentious arguments along the way, but Bryant will respect Brown more if he's not afraid to stand up for himself. Yet Bryant is also going to want to be given the proper space and freedom most NBA superstars command.

This is the first post  in an occasional series of Q&As with a member of Mike Brown's coaching staff. Below is an email exchange with Lakers assistant coach Chuck Person, facilitated through the Lakers' media relations staff. 

During your interview with Coach Brown, what points did you emphasize to him and what questions did he want to know from you?

"The hiring was pretty much immediate because of the relationship I had with Mike working with him in Indiana under Rick Carlisle. He asked me if I wanted to be here and I told him yes because I like the Lakers organization, what this team’s about and what type of players we have moving forward to try to win a championship again in the future."

What was your overall approach to the interview in terms of selling yourself?

"It wasn’t a matter of me selling myself because our philosophies are similar both offensively and defensively. I know what Mike Brown’s approach is to game planning and implementing his system because of his days in San Antonio. Then we worked together in Indiana, so I am familiar with his approach and I can continue to carry those things on while working for him."

What responsibilities has Brown assigned to you? This can range from any opponents he’s put you in charge of scouting or certain team responsibilities. What’s your overall philosophy on those areas you’re going to oversee?

"It will be different from what Phil [Jackson] had us do. Phil gave us each certain teams to scout, where Mike has us each learn the entire league. Our scouting responsibilities will be on a game-by-game basis, we’ll just rotate it that way. In terms of personal assignments, we are just going to coach the team. All coaches are required to know both sides of the ball; obviously we have our different strengths we bring to the table. My strength is on the defensive side of the ball. The system we are going to implement will be similar to last season because it’s a system I learned from Mike Brown. So there won’t be much change in the defensive philosophy."

-- ESPN Los Angeles' Dave McMenamin reports Chuck Person had planned to interview for a position on Kevin McHale's coaching staff with the Houston Rockets on Monday but that he's keeping all options open.

-- Fox 26 Sports Houston's Mark Berman also details Person's meeting with the Rockets. 

-- The Orange County Register's Kevin Ding believes it's likely Person will stay with the Lakers.

-- ESPN Los Angeles' Andy Kamenetzky talks with Os Davis, from the Ball in Europe site, about what Ettore Messina would bring to the Lakers' coaching staff.

-- Hoopsworld's Eric Pincus looks at various ways to fix the Lakers. 

-- Lakers.com's Mike Trudell updates the team's roster and talks to Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak about what he's looking for in the upcoming NBA Draft.

-- Silver Screen and Roll's C.A. Clark analyzes Sasha Vujacic's stint last season with the Lakers.

-- Forum Blue and Gold's Darius Soriano looks at how Messina's presence would affect the Lakers' offense.

-- Lakers Nation's Steven Almazan argues that Dwight Howard is not the Lakers' missing piece. 

Kobe Bryant plays NBA 2K12 in the video below and reveals this hilarious nugget on the realistic game play: "We were actually running the triangle offense better than we ran the triangle offense last year."

Tweet of the Day: "GSW has also discussed idea of hiring Mike Malone as Mark Jax's top aide. But Malone said to favor joining Lakers if he's still an assistant ... Malone was scheduled to meet today w/Lakers and is highly coveted by Mike Brown, who wants both Malone and the freshly fired John Kuester ... Those in the know say Warriors have discussed offering Mike Malone title of associate head coach, but pull of Lakers hard to overcome. 

Hearing Warriors are keeping hard press on Mike Malone and optimistic that they CAN get him as Mark Jackson's top aide and keep him from LAL ... W/Lakers looking to keep coaching salaries down, Dubs can easily win a Mike Malone bidding war to ensure Jack has best bench possible ... NBA coaching sources say Warriors have made "generous" offer to Mike Malone to convince him to join Mark Jackson's staff (over Mike Brown's)" -- Stein_LINE_HQ (ESPN.com's Marc Stein)

Rick Friedman Reader Comment of the Day: "All this team really needs are players who are hungry for a title. It's all about the "Hunger." -- :-(  

-- Mark Medina

E-mail the Lakers blog at mgmedin@gmail.com

Photo: Lakers assistant coaches Brian Shaw, left, and Chuck Person are interviewing for the head coaching job with the Golden State Warriors this week. Credit: Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times

Another month of NBA playoff basketball still awaits us. A possible prolonged lockout might follow suit. And everyone, particularly Laker fans, are going to drive themselves nuts should there be a busy off-season.

In the wake of all of this, the Lakers are looking for their next head coach to succeed Phil Jackson, with Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak saying there is "no timetable" and he hasn't set any "parameters" for what he wants in a head coach. There are plenty of reasons for what might be a lengthy search. Kupchak said in the next couple of weeks he plans to meet with owner Jerry Buss and executive Jim Buss to discuss the coaching search. They want to take their time with the interview process. And even if Kupchak wouldn't acknowledge this as a factor, the possible failure for the league and players union to reach a new collective bargaining agreement before it expires June 30 reduces the urgency.

There have been enough reports, including ones from The Times' Mike Bresnahan, Broderick Turner and Mark Heisler, about potential candidates, and they'll offer more updates as the coaching search progresses. But given the uncertainty on how long that will last, the next best source to consult involves an astrologist. You may recall I consulted a numerology website last year on all the players on the Lakers' roster and they turned out remarkably accurate. So I figured I'd apply the concept to some of the Lakers' coaching candidates.

Enter the name and birthdate of the candidate, and the website provides a comprehensive analysis of that person broken up into several categories, including inner or soul's urge, personality, quiescent self, destiny or ultimate goal, life's path, this year's path, next year's path and last year's path. I narrowed the description down below the jump to "this year's path," considering becoming the Lakers' coach will be a defining moment for any of the candidates this season. 

Note: We will have a live chat today at 1 p.m. Bring your questions!

--The Times' Broderick Turner reports that Chuck Person will interview this week for the vacant head-coaching job with the Golden State Warriors. Turner also reports that Person expects the Indiana Pacers to contact him about their opening.

--The Daily News' Vincent Bonsignore looks at the possible candidates to coach the Lakers.

--The Sacramento Bee's Tom Couzens argues that  Rick Adelman would be a great fit for the Lakers. 

--Pro Basketball Talk's Matt Moore says Shannon Brown's tweet denying a report that he slept with Pau Gasol's girlfriend was unnecessary. 

--ESPN Los Angeles' Andy Kamenetzky provides a player report card for Matt Barnes.

Tweet of the Day: "You wonder what's wrong with this country? Khloe and Lamar is trending higher than Taj Gibson right now...." -- AndrewSiciliano (DirectTV's Andrew Siciliano)

Rick Friedman Reader Comment of the Day: "Very impressive win by the Bulls. Outstanding defensive strategy, and tenacious execution (hopefully Jim Buss is taking videos to put in front of whoever is his new coach, saying, "Here, we want our team to play like THIS."). Seriously, this was a real pleasure to watch for any fan of the game. It also confirms that the real genius behind the Celts' run the last few years was Tom Thibodeau. Chicago is in good hands whether they win it all this year or not. Their only vulnerability right now is the lack of size in the middle (something that Bosh exploited for 3 quarters)." -- Corner J

-- Mark Medina

E-mail the Lakers blog at mgmedin@gmail.com

Photo: Lakers assistant coaches Brian Shaw, left, and Chuck Person. Credit: Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times

Just a reminder: I will be talking to Ron Artest soon and I will forward him 10 of your best questions. Tell me your questions in the comments threat, at The Times' Lakers Facebook page.

Rewind, fast forward, pause or freeze frame any highlight reel of the Lakers' 139-137 triple overtime victory Tuesday over the Phoenix Suns. Regardless of any clip you stumble upon, plenty of them will emerge that show the 18,997 at Staples Center waving yellow "Los Lakers" towels in a never-ending roller coaster ride.

There was excitement: Kobe Bryant's made a pull-up jumper over Channing Frye that clinched the victory. Ron Artest's somehow leapt for a one-handed dunk. And Lamar Odom provided enough coast-to-coast drives to leave him wanting to eat pancakes afterwards.

There was tension: Pau Gasol made two free throws forced triple overtime, Derek Fisher's hit two free throws to give the Lakers a three-point lead before Phoenix extended to double overtime. And Odom's foul that gave Frye three foul shots to force extra regulation left many biting their fingernails.

And there were theatrics: Bryant bit his jersey as if he forgot to eat his pregame meal. Artest blew kisses to the crowd, flexed his muscles and kissed his own biceps in a routine that left Odom arguing he should be a professional wrestler. And the team embraced after a well-fought victory, bringing a sentimental ending to the game, or soap opera for that matter.

A few notes: I am in short supply of Laker blog profiles. This is something I plan to feature on Lakers' off-days throughout the season so if you want this series to continue, send your profiles to mgmedin@gmail.com

Plenty of readers loved, for good reason, "Journey to the Ring," a collaborative book between Lakers Coach Phil Jackson and NBA senior photographer Andrew D. Bernstein. You can order advance copies here.

--The Times' Mike Bresnahan details the influence Lakers assistant coach Chuck Person has provided for the Lakers.

--ESPN.com's Chris Broussard remains confused as to why Minnesota Coach and former Laker Kurt Rambis limits Kevin Love's playing time.

--ESPN Los Angeles' Brian Kamenetzky breaks down the Lakers' defense. He also previews the Lakers' upcoming week.

Lakers guard Kobe Bryant thanks the military for their service in the video below

--Sports Illustrated's Zach Lowe devotes part of his column to a favorite among hoops fans: making fun of Minnesota's Darko Milicic.

--CBSSports.com's Matt Moore asks if anyone wants to play point guard for the T-Wolves. Thanks, but I'll pass.

--Fox Sports' West's Matt Smith predicts the Lakers will get at least 73 wins.

--The Star Tribune highlights Minnesota's youth.

--Lakers.com's Mike Trudell details where the Lakers rank league-wide in a few statistical categories.

--Silver Screen and Roll's C.A. Clark argues the Lakers can play good defense simply when they put their minds to it.

--Forum Blue and Gold's Zephid breaks down the effectiveness Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom have demonstrated thus far.

--Canis Hoopus' pescatello wonders whether the Timberwolves can win 30 games.

--Lakers Nation's Nadya Avakian likes how Steve Blake and Derek Fisher are working together.

--Mark Medina

Twitter.com/latmedina

mgmedin@gmail.com

Photo: Lakers guard Kobe Bryant makes a pass after running into the defense of Timberwolves forward Michael Beasley in the first quarter of their exhibition game Oct. 4 at London's O2 Arena. Credit: Dylan Martinez / Reuters