Three most important things to be aware of as the Mavericks take on the Utah Jazz on their western road swing.

With just 12 games remaining on the regular season schedule, the Dallas Mavericks (41-29) embark on a five-game western road swing that will go a long way toward deciding the team’s ultimate playoff position. It starts with a crucial back-to-back set — the front end of which will be played Monday at Utah’s Delta Center against the Jazz (29-42).

Dallas comes into the game tied for seventh with the Sacramento Kings after Friday’s 113-97 home win against the Jazz briefly put them in sixth. The Phoenix Suns (42-29) leapfrogged the Mavericks and Kings with their 131-106 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday, but only by a half-game in the standings.

A win on Monday would give the Mavs three wins in four games against the Jazz this year before Dallas heads to Sacramento for a pair of games on Tuesday and Friday. The general rule on those NBA double-dips has usually been that the two teams involved find a way to split, which makes taking care of business in Utah the crucial first step to a successful road trip.

Here are three things we’ll be watching out for when the Mavericks face the Jazz:

Will Markkanen and Clarkson play?

The availability of two key Jazz players could greatly swing the difficulty level of this matchup. Both point guard Jordan Clarkson and forward Lauri Markkanen are listed as questionable coming into Monday’s matchup. If they can both go, this may be a tougher win to get than the win on Thursday was.

Markkanen had 21 points on just 6-of-20 shooting on Friday against the Mavs but sat out of Saturday’s 147-119 loss to the Houston Rockets. Dallas made it tough on the Jazz on Thursday by forcing 13 turnovers in the second and third quarters and turning that defense into immediate offense for 18 dunks on the night, which set a new high mark in the NBA this year.

Utah guard Kris Dunn, who scored four points and handed out five assists against the Mavericks on Thursday, is suspended for Monday’s game after an altercation on Saturday with Houston’s Jabari Smith Jr.

Avoid the letdown

It’s far too late in the year, and the Western Conference playoff race is far too tightly contested for the Mavericks to be able to afford any letdown at the lowly Jazz, who are in free fall right now. Utah has lost five straight and 16 of their last 19 games. They were a .500 team in early February, which seems like ages ago at this point.

A chance to heat up

The matchup with the Jazz provides a couple of Mavericks another chance to get it going offensively down the stretch. Both P.J. Washington and Tim Hardaway Jr. have had cold stretches of their own recently, and it would be great to see at least one of them find some confidence in their shot in Utah.

Hardaway played just 17 minutes and went just 0-for-4 from the field against Utah on Thursday, and perhaps fewer minutes in favor of Jaden Hardy is the right play at this point in the season. But the Mavs would still love to go into the playoffs with Hardaway as a potential weapon rather than the shell of his early-season self we’ve seen in the last 10-12 games.

Washington went 3-of-9 from the field and 0-of-4 from 3-point range on Thursday while helping to limit Markkanen on the defensive end.

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