Clippers Undervalued in Series vs. Mavericks Despite Having Home Court Advantage

The Clippers held on to win one of the most memorable games in recent playoff memory, retaking the lead in the fourth quarter after squandering a 31-point lead in the first half, evening the series behind the clutch play of James Harden.

The Clippers, without Kawhi Leonard in both wins, are tied with the Mavericks in this first-round series at two games a piece. Los Angeles has had to play short-handed for much of this series but has retaken home-court advantage against Dallas, who has had up-and-down production from the likes of even Luka Doncic throughout the series.

Despite the tied series, and the edge on paper belonging with Los Angeles, who will host Game 5 and potentially Game 7, the Mavericks are considerable favorites to advance out of the first round, listed as -185 favorites at consensus sportsbooks.

Dallas closed as a small favorite in this series as rumors swirled around Kawhi Leonard's availability. Leonard missed Game 1, but the Clippers rolled to a double-digit victory. The former Finals MVP returned from his knee injury in Game 2 and 3 but struggled in both games, scoring a total of 24 points on 11-of-24 shooting in 60 combined minutes.

Leonard missed Game 4, the chaotic victory for the Clippers, who are now 2-0 with its superstar on the sideline due to injury, and now Mavericks' star Doncic is nursing a knee injury as well, but his status isn't in doubt for Game 5 and beyond.

The questions around Leonard will persist and are likely driving the odds in this direction, but the Clippers may be better without this version of the wing, and have home court. Keep your eye on this series that is shaping up to be a classic as we go longer into the series.

Here are the updated series odds for Clippers vs. mavericks.

Mavericks vs. Clippers Series Odds

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.