Maggette will keep shooting, and hope

Sixth man Corey Maggette is not considered a long-range specialist, shooting only 31.9% on three-pointers in his career.

This season, however, Maggette has been especially ineffective from beyond the arc. In the Clippers’ first 13 games, the seven-year veteran missed 22 of 24 shots.

Maggette is not a marksman, but a three-point success rate of 8.3%?

“It’s tough when you know you can make them better than that and you’re not,” he said. “I can’t really put my finger on it, I can’t really figure out why I’m shooting the way I am, but I’m definitely not happy about it.”

Many players have complained about the feel of the NBA’s new microfiber composite ball, but the ball “isn’t an excuse for the way I’m shooting,” Maggette said. “Of course, I don’t like the ball, but you can’t look for excuses. You just have to keep working and get it figured out.”

Maggette’s work ethic is second to none on the team, players said, and he has stayed after practice recently to work on his shooting with assistant coaches.

“I make them in practice, I just can’t make them in games, and that’s the frustrating part,” he said. “I’m not to the point where I’m worried, I know it’s going to come, so I guess I just have to keep shooting.”

Maggette made six of 26 shots -- including 0 for 4 from three-point range -- in the last two games of the Clippers’ three-game, five-day trip to Minnesota, Denver and Sacramento that ended Tuesday.

He scored 18 points against Minnesota, had 22 points and 12 rebounds against Denver and six points against Sacramento as the Clippers went 0-3 on the trip.

“It’s frustrating the way I’m shooting, but the fact is I’m still finding a way to get some points on the board to help this team,” Maggette said.

“You’ve got to get to the line, go inside and just do something. I’ve been doing that, so it’s just going to help the team even more when my shot does come back.”

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Center Chris Kaman (sprained left ankle) could be sidelined for two weeks, but Coach Mike Dunleavy expressed optimism that Kaman might return sooner than expected.

“It looks like his ankle is getting better,” Dunleavy said. “I think he can play next week sometime.”

jason.reid@latimes.com