Clippers’ Ivica Zubac working patiently on extending his range

LOS ANGELES >> Some were short, but otherwise, they were pretty darn true. Shoot, they were pretty.

Before the Clippers’ victory Monday over San Antonio, Ivica Zubac was, as he has for the past several months, working diligently on his 3-point shot.

But don’t hold your breath waiting on the Croatian big man to become a bona fide bomber; you’ll turn blue before he gets the green light to start shooting regularly from deep.

Still, coach Doc Rivers said Monday he believes that day is coming, which is why he and the team’s front office directed Zubac — a Clipper for almost a full calendar year now, after having arrived in a rare trade with the Lakers at the deadline last season — to work on it.

“Zube will be a 3-point shooter,” Rivers said, noting that the 7-foot center will get his blessing to fire away when he can “make a lot of them in a row.”

For the present, the next 3-pointer Zubac buries in an NBA game will be his first. He’s 0 for 6 in 190 appearances so far.

“But he really does, he shoots them well,” Rivers insisted. “He shoots them easy. Obviously I haven’t crossed that bridge or tunnel or whatever you’re supposed to cross, but if he was open and took one, it wouldn’t bother me. He actually is a very good shooter from out there. I actually feel like he shoots them better than he does from the elbow which we don’t want him doing anyways.”

Zubac — who has a 57.8 field goal percentage this season — is 5 for 11 on shots between 10 and 16 feet from the basket, and 8 for 11 on those from 16 feet out to the 3-point line. He’s 0 for 2 from behind the arc.

His first 3-point attempt this season, on Nov. 18 against Oklahoma City, came with four seconds left on the shot clock and glanced off the rim. His only other attempt, on Dec. 6 at Milwaukee, went in and out as the shot clock expired. Those were his first attempts since April 11, 2018, when he shot one against the Clippers.

“Worked a lot on it this summer and still working on it,” Zubac said Monday. “Still trying to get better. The front office and the coaching staff, they want me to develop that shot and they want me to work on it every day, so every day I get a chance to work on my game, I always have a few drills that I’m shooting 3s and I’m trying to get better at it. And hopefully when the team needs it, I’ll be ready.”

Rivers said he appreciates Zubac’s willingness to learn to paint outside of the paint.

“Give him credit, he really works on it,” Rivers said. “We’ve told him to work on it and hopefully at some point it becomes part of his arsenal.”

Just please don’t expect to see him taking 3s already Wednesday against the Miami Heat (7 p.m., ESPN, Fox Sports Prime Ticket), Zubac said.

“My role is to be a roller, offensive rebounder, set the screens and roll hard and play defense,” he said. “I don’t want to waste my minutes on the court just trying to pop. It’s not good for our team.

“I’m confident in my shot, but I don’t think I’m ready yet to pop. I’m working on it, and I think I’m a really good shooter, but it’s different shooting in a workout than in a game, so still gotta work on that part.”

Zubac from deep. pic.twitter.com/yTIZXcljQV

— Mirjam Swanson (@MirjamSwanson) February 4, 2020

CHICAGO SKILLS

Patrick Beverley will join Kawhi Leonard, who was named All-Star Game starter for the fourth time, in Chicago for this season’s All-Star festivities. The Clippers’ fiery guard will head to his hometown to take part in the Skills Challenge on Feb. 15, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Beverley – who celebrated the news Tuesday with a Tweet, “Gotta represent at the crib!!!” – came from behind to win the skills event in 2015, when he was a member of the Houston Rockets. This time, the high-energy guard will compete against a field of eight that reportedly also will include fellow Chicagoan Derrick Rose.

Participants represent some of the “most skilled players in the NBA,” according to the league, and will compete on an on-court obstacle course.

Beverley is averaging 7.6 points this season and shooting 36.8% from 3-point range. The 6-foot-1 guard also is grabbing 5.8 rebounds per contest, second most by a player 6-3 or shorter.

CLIPPERS VS. HEAT

When: 7 p.m. Wednesday

Where: Staples Center

TV: ESPN, Fox Sports Prime Ticket