It allowed the notorious workaholic Lue to begin playoff preparations early.

The Clippers won the season series against the Mavericks, 2-1, but the two teams haven’t played each other since Dallas traded for center Daniel Gafford and forward P.J. Washington.

“It’s a lot of preparation,” Lue said. “Probably too much time. A lot of overthinking. But it gives you a chance to kind of lock in to what they’re doing, how they try to attack teams and what you can take away. So, it’s good to have the time.”

Time that Lue has spent looking at ways to deal with the always dangerous Doncic, which will be no easy task.

Doncic, a most valuable player candidate, led the NBA in scoring (33.9), was second in three-pointers made (4.1) and third in assists (9.8). He also averaged 9.2 rebounds.

“He’s been great since I’ve seen him play,” Lue said. “He’s been a tough matchup for us since he’s been in the league. So, you just got to pick your poison, I think you got to give him different coverages. You can’t let him get comfortable. But he’s seen everything. He’s seen double teams, he’s seen fires, he’s seen blitzes, one-on-one coverages. He’s seen switches, like, he’s seen everything. So, you got to pick your poison and try to keep him off balanced as best as possible, which is hard to do.”

Etc.

The Clippers announced that they have signed Kai Jones and have waived Joshua Primo.

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