PLAYA VISTA – The first question Blake Griffin was asked before practice Friday made him smile.

“So, are you a 3-point shooter now?” a reporter asked.

“Naw, man,” Griffin responded. “From the corners, it’s a shorter shot. I think it’s a decent shot for me, but it’s not one I want to settle for.”

The question is not off base. Griffin went 2-for-3 from 3-point range on Wednesday and has made four of his seven shots from the short corner this season.

“Blake’s one of those guys who’s capable of shooting that shot,” said Chris Paul, who has assisted on 97 of Griffin’s field goals this season including two of his 3-pointers. “We all know that. I think he does a great job of picking and choosing when he needs to and when he doesn’t need to.”

He rarely takes the shot in games, usually opting to fire away when he’s up against the 24-second clock or has no one around him on the perimeter. But he works on it as part of his shooting regimen.

“It’s a shot that I have worked on,” Griffin said. “It’s not like I just started shooting them out of nowhere. It’s not a shot that I’m going to rely, but if it’s an open shot and a good shot then I’m going to take it.”

Griffin’s range has expanded this season as it is. He’s on pace to take more than 400 shots from outside of 16 feet for the first time in his career, a distance that he’s shooting a career-high 37.6 percent.

For Clippers head coach Doc Rivers, if the shot is available he wants Griffin to take it.

“I think, especially the corner three, is a good shot for him,” Rivers said. “He shoots it well. I don’t want him to take more threes than twos. But I have no problem with it. He works on his shot every day. If he’s open he should shoot it.”

BLAKE GRIFFIN'S SHOT CHART