{"id":670658,"date":"2026-03-21T12:54:26","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T12:54:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/670658\/"},"modified":"2026-03-21T12:54:26","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T12:54:26","slug":"mmbets-the-los-angeles-clippers-visit-the-dallas-mavericks-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/670658\/","title":{"rendered":"MMBets: The Los Angeles Clippers visit the Dallas Mavericks"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"\">It\u2019s late March, the last of my <a href=\"https:\/\/www.onsecondscoop.com\/2025\/02\/haagen-dazs-salted-brown-butter-cookie.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Salted Brown Butter Cookie;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Salted Brown Butter Cookie&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Salted Brown Butter Cookie<\/a> H\u00e4agen-Dazs is gone, and the Dallas Mavericks (23-47) are hosting the Los Angeles Clippers (34-36) in a game that actually matters\u2014just not the same way for both teams. The Clippers are sitting squarely in the play-in and have dropped back-to-back games to the Pelicans as part of a four-game losing streak. Kawhi Leonard, who has quietly assembled what might be the most underappreciated just-shy-of-MVP-caliber season in the league, does not lose back-to-back games to bad teams without strong feelings about it. The Mavericks, meanwhile, are watching the tank race tighten with Memphis and New Orleans both finding wins. Dallas plays hard\u2014they always play hard\u2014but tonight the opponent has a different kind of motivation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Let\u2019s scan the lines in search of value.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">\ud83c\udfc0 Fixture: Los Angeles Clippers (34-36) @ Dallas Mavericks (23-47)<br \/>\ud83d\udccd American Airlines Center \u2014 Dallas, TX<br \/>\ud83d\udd56 7:30 PM CST, Saturday, March 21, 2026<br \/>\ud83d\udcfa KFAA Channel 29 \/ MavsTV \/ NBA League Pass<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">\ud83d\udcca DraftKings Snapshot (as of 11:49 PM CST, March 20)<br \/>Spread: LAC -6.5 (-118) | DAL +6.5 (-102)<br \/>Total: 233.5 (O -110 \/ U -110)<br \/>Moneyline: LAC -290 | DAL +235<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udcc9 Game Side Lean: Clippers -6.5<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Kawhi Leonard is averaging 28.2 points on 50% shooting this season\u2014the most complete version of him we\u2019ve seen in years\u2014and he has a history of making life miserable for Dallas specifically. The Clippers have lost four straight and are fighting for play-in positioning with three weeks left. That\u2019s the kind of urgency that covers spreads. Dallas is still trotting out their best available lineup and playing with pride, which keeps them competitive, but competitive and covering are two different things against a locked-in Kawhi. Lay the points.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udd2e Total Lean: Under 233.5<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">This one sets up to play out as a slower, more deliberate basketball game\u2014fewer threes for the sake of threes, more halfcourt sets, more physicality. The Clippers aren\u2019t built for track meets anyway, and Dallas without full frontcourt health doesn\u2019t push pace the way they might otherwise. This one plays in the mud. Take the under.<\/p>\n<p>\ud83c\udfaf Player Props We Like<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">John Collins Over 14.5 Points (-118)<br \/>Collins has made a habit of feasting against Dallas since his Atlanta Hawks era, and with the Clippers needing a statement performance, expect their supporting cast to get opportunities alongside Kawhi. Collins is a reliable secondary scorer who benefits from defenses keying on Leonard, and 14.5 is a number he\u2019s capable of clearing before the fourth quarter. Can Dallas keep him under 20?<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Daniel Gafford Over 9.5 Points (-114)<br \/>Gafford has hit double digits in points six games in a row and the big man is back and playing with energy. Against a Clippers frontcourt that surrenders paint touches, Gafford\u2019s catch-and-finish game should generate easy looks. If the Mavs feed Gafford with paint touches with intention, this is the kind of prop that cashes in the second quarter and you forget you have it until the final.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">\ud83d\udca1 TLDR Summary:<br \/>Clippers -6.5 for a Kawhi who has a point to prove. Under 233.5 for a halfcourt slog between two teams playing with urgency. Collins eating against a familiar victim, Gafford doing Gafford things in the paint. Four picks. Go Mavs\u2014just maybe not tonight. Right now, losses are sweet than the best ice cream.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s late March, the last of my Salted Brown Butter Cookie H\u00e4agen-Dazs is gone, and the Dallas Mavericks&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":670659,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3789],"tags":[208,7,69539,559,686,149,2619,6971,529,4034,192,4032,251,135,4033,4031,293,6,478,675,490],"class_list":["post-670658","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles-clippers","tag-atlanta-hawks","tag-basketball","tag-brett-davis-imagn","tag-clippers","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-mavericks","tag-daniel-gafford","tag-john-collins","tag-kawhi-leonard","tag-la","tag-la-clippers","tag-laclippers","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-clippers","tag-losangeles","tag-losangelesclippers","tag-memphis","tag-nba","tag-new-orleans","tag-pelicans","tag-the-mavericks"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116267271102288357","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/670658","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=670658"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/670658\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/670659"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=670658"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=670658"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=670658"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}