With 12 games remaining on their regular season schedule, the Dallas Mavericks (41-29) embark on a five-game swing at Western Road that will go a long way in determining the team's final playoff position. It begins with important back-to-back sets, the first of which begins Monday against the Jazz (29-42) at Utah's Delta Center.
Dallas enters the game tied for seventh place with the Sacramento Kings after briefly sitting in sixth place with a 113-97 home win over the Jazz on Friday. The Phoenix Suns (42-29) beat the San Antonio Spurs 131-106 on Saturday, vaulting them over the Mavericks and Kings but only 0.5 games behind them 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 two games on Tuesday and Friday. The general rule for double dips in the NBA is that the two teams involved usually find a way to split up, so taking care of business in Utah is key to a successful road trip. This is the first step.
Here are three things to watch when the Mavericks play the Jazz.
Will Markkanen and Clarkson play?
The availability of two key Jazz players could make a big difference in the difficulty of this matchup. Point guard Jordan Clarkson and forward Lauri Markkanen are listed as questionable for Monday's matchup. If both are available, a win could be harder to come by than Thursday's.
Markkanen scored 21 points on 6-of-20 shooting against the Mavs on Friday, but sat out Saturday's 147-119 loss to the Houston Rockets. Dallas forced 13 turnovers in the second and third quarters Thursday and quickly turned its defense into offense on Thursday, giving the Jazz a hard time by making 18 dunks, the most in the NBA this year. It became a new record.
Utah guard Kris Dunn, who had four points and five assists in Thursday's game against the Mavericks, was suspended for Monday's game after getting into an altercation with Houston's Jabari Smith Jr. on Saturday.
avoid disappointment
This year has come too late, and the Western Conference playoff race is too competitive for the Mavericks to afford any leeway with the lowly Jazz, who are currently in freefall. Utah has lost five straight in 16 of its last 19 games. They were a .500 team in early February, which seems like years ago at this point.
A chance to heat up
The matchup against the Jazz will give several Mavericks another chance to start attacking in the second half. PJ Washington and Tim Hardaway Jr. have each had tough times lately, and it would be great to see at least one of them feel confident in their shot in Utah.
Hardaway played just 17 minutes against Utah on Thursday, going just 0-for-4 from the field, but cutting back on his minutes in favor of Jaden Hardy is probably the right play at this point in the season. However, the Mavs want to enter the playoffs with Hardaway as a potential weapon, rather than the shell he has been at the beginning of the season, as he has been the last 10-12 games.
Washington made 3-of-9 field goals and 0-of-4 from 3-point range on Thursday, helping limit Markkanen defensively.
