For tonight, the NBA offers up its weekly TNT double-header and this week’s pair will feature some quality conference tests. Chicago meets Cleveland in the first battle before Utah welcomes San Antonio in the late-night tip.

Let’s break ‘em down!

Chicago at Cleveland - 8:05 p.m. EST

Chicago (2-2 straight up, 1-3 against the spread) made some noise last year in the playoffs by putting a scare in Boston. While it’s still early to tell if the Bulls can repeat the success they showed in postseason, the pattern seems constant. Chicago is 2-0 at home this year but 0-2 on the road and the defeats away from home have been ugly. The Bulls lost to Miami by eight and Boston by 28, both playoff teams.

Vinny Del Negro’s team will get tested again Thursday when it visits Cleveland (3-2 SU, 2-3 ATS). The Cavaliers started the season with losses to Boston (95-89) and Toronto (101-91) but have rebounded with three consecutive victories albeit against weaker teams (Minnesota, Charlotte, Washington). Cleveland did won all three by double digits which produced a 2-1 ATS mark.

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The Cavaliers have been tabbed 11-point home favorites against the Bulls. Last year, Cleveland took three of four from Chicago both SU and ATS, including a pair of double-digit wins (25, 14) at Quicken Loans Arena. The ‘over’ went 3-1.

The offseason loss of shooting guard Ben Gordon is already showing up on the court and in the stats for Chicago. Through the first four games, the number of 3-point attempts is down and the number of makes beyond the stripe is down too. The Bulls are shooting 22 percent from downtown with John Salmons and Kirk Hinrich the only true threats.

We mention the outside shooting woes because it’s helped total bettors. Chicago has now become an ‘under’ team and the results are 3-1 through the first four. Will it continue for 82 games? Still early but if you don’t have a post-up offensive player and the shooters are inconsistent, all signs would say so.

The total for this battle opened at 187 points but has since spiked up to 191. It should be noted the four of Cleveland’s five games this year have gone ‘under’ the number and the lone ‘over’ ticket barely hit by one point.

San Antonio at Utah – 10:35 p.m. EST

Utah (1-3 SU, 1-3 ATS) is hoping to get back on the right track tonight when San Antonio (2-1 SU, 2-1 ATS) visits EnergySolutions Arena. The Jazz have dropped three of their first four, and the last defeat against Dallas on Tuesday was embarrassing. Utah held a 13-point (67-52) lead over the Mavericks entering the final quarter but was outscored 44-18 in the last stanza. Dallas wound up capturing a 96-85 decision and even managed to cover as a six-point favorite.

Playing in Salt Lake City should help Utah’s confidence tonight, considering its success at home over the past seasons. The Jazz stand at 1-1 both SU and ATS at home this year and the one victory came against the L.A. Clippers.

Despite the past success, the Jazz are listed as home underdogs for this game tonight. San Antonio has only played one game on the road this year and it lost on Oct. 29 to Chicago 92-85, which aired on TNT too.

Looking back at the previous encounters, the Spurs have had Utah’s number recently. They’ve won and covered four in a row, including a three-game sweep last year. Two of the three games were decided by six points while the other was a 25-point blowout, but the Jazz were without point guard Deron Williams for the lopsided setback. The Spurs were also without their point guard, Tony Parker, for that game too.

All three games last season easily cashed ‘over’ tickets and it appears that the books have made some adjustments based on those results. The highest total last year was listed at 193 and tonight’s number opened at 199 1/2 and has dropped to 197 in some spots.

Chris David can be reached at cdavid@vegasinsider.com