Jackson analyzes Bynum

SALT LAKE CITY —  It seemed about the right time for an Andrew Bynum update, and Coach Phil Jackson went along willingly.

The Lakers center had been moving along quietly for a while, nothing extraordinary and nothing embarrassing. Jackson had admonished him twice this season for a below-average work ethic, but he didn’t go that far Monday, instead pointing out the need for more consistency against the league’s lesser centers.

“I noticed when he plays against a [Tim] Duncan or a Shaquille O’Neal or a front-line center, a top-rated center [like] ... [Dwight] Howard from Orlando, that his activity level is much higher,” Jackson said. “We were talking about that: How can you capture that to play with more intensity? That’s what we’re demanding of him. He seems to have one gear and not get to the next. We’re trying to get him to that position where he can play.”

Bynum is averaging 8.4 points and 6.5 rebounds. He is averaging 23 minutes, which Jackson complimented, although his time probably will be reduced when Kwame Brown returns in the near future.

“His stamina has developed a lot better this year,” Jackson said. “We thought of him as an eight-minute guy, get him out after eight minutes and let him get some rest because those last two, three minutes there, a lot of things happen there like fouls or fumbled balls or missed rebounds. But he’s done a better job of fighting his way through and playing nine or 10 minutes now in a row, so I’m pleased with that part of his development.”

Jackson had some big-picture thoughts as well, unveiling a blueprint of Bynum’s future.

“He’s still a 19-year-old guy,” Jackson said. “We know that step one is he doesn’t get a defeatist attitude out there playing. Step two is he understands how to grow and how to develop, and that he understands step three, what it takes to get to the next level as he continues to develop year after year.”

Bynum, fighting through flu-like symptoms, had two points and three rebounds in 33 minutes Monday against the Utah Jazz.

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Jackson recently spoke at an event for the Positive Coaching Alliance, which calls for a ratio of five positive remarks for every one negative comment to a player.

“I haven’t listened to that lately,” Jackson said, smiling.

Really?

“Now’s the last six miles in this marathon,” he said. “Now you’ve got to go after it. Every game gets to be critical when you start to put together a playoff-type of game that you want to play.”

mike.bresnahan@latimes.com