Farmar works hard on his shooting

SALT LAKE CITY — Many of the Lakers were down and out, really in no mood for exit meetings with Phil Jackson and Mitch Kupchak after another early playoff elimination last May.

But Jordan Farmar listened, intently, to what they said to him.

He then became a denizen of the team training facility, working on his shot as June slipped into July, and then into August and September.

“Every day, a couple times a day,” Farmar said. “I took a lot of shots.”

Apparently.

Farmar, who turned 21 on Friday, is averaging 10.1 points after scoring 21 against the Jazz and shooting 50.8%, a solid percentage for a guard. He was also well above average with his 40.7% accuracy from three-point range.

“I’m just trying to shorten [my shot], square my shoulders up and just knock it down,” Farmar said. “It’s all hand-eye coordination, and I believe in my ability.”

He wasn’t entirely confident on his drives to the hoop last season. Jackson said Farmar “started worrying about it a little bit.”

“Things weren’t going well for him on the way to the basket. He wasn’t getting calls. He was getting knocked down, and then you’ve got 5-on-4 coming back at the other end of the floor. I had to tell him, ‘You’ve got to make those shots or else suffer the consequences for it.’ ”

Things have changed. Consequences have lessened.

“Hard work,” Farmar said. “And confidence.”

Come again?

A day after agreeing to a two-year contract extension, Jackson wondered aloud if he would be able to finish it.

“Can I do this again for another year? Yeah, I think so,” he said. “Can I do it for two? Who knows? That’s not important. Just take it a day at a time. Things go by really quickly, you know?”

It appeared Jackson was having fun with the concept . . . perhaps.

When asked if he felt relief, he smiled.

“No, not at all,” he said wryly. “A lot more pressure.”

Sasha Vujacic had a career-high 22 points Thursday against Denver, 19 in the fourth quarter, an outburst obviously welcomed by Jackson.

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