Nothing regular about NBA season now

Remember the days when NBA regular-season games were considered a formality for the league’s top teams, and they didn’t seem to play hard until the fourth quarter?

Well, those disjointed efforts are now a thing of the past.

Thanks to this season’s hotly contested playoff races, the NBA features upsets and closely contested games nightly, and this type of unpredictability has kept pro basketball bettors on their toes.

Just look at some results over the last week. Atlanta, despite a sub-.500 record, won at Golden State and then covered the point spread in a tough loss at Utah.

New Orleans, which held the best record in the Western Conference at the All-Star break, has lost three in a row -- including two at home -- and failed to cover the spread in four of its last five games heading into tonight’s showdown against Phoenix.

And the Suns? After Shaquille O’Neal was inserted into the starting lineup a week ago, Phoenix was favored three times and went 1-2 against the spread in those games. They also lost two of the three before beating the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday.

It’s enough to drive a casual bettor crazy. Want more?

Take tonight’s key Eastern Conference matchup between Cleveland and Boston with the Celtics opening as 7 1/2 -point favorites at home.

The Cavaliers are 1-5 against the spread in their last six games versus Atlantic Division teams and 1-4 against the spread in their last five games against teams with a .600 or better winning percentage.

But heading into Tuesday’s game at Milwaukee, Cleveland was 8-2 against the spread in its last 10 road games and 3-0 against the spread in the second game of its last three back-to-back sets.

Then there’s Boston, which has the NBA’s best record and is coming off a five-game West Coast trip. The Celtics failed to cover the line in losing their first three games on the trip but beat the spread in victories at Portland and against the Clippers.

Last add: The last time Boston finished a multi-game West Coast trip, the Celtics failed to cover the spread (+11 1/2 points) in their first game back at TD Banknorth Garden when they defeated Houston, 97-93, Jan. 2.

Baseball

According to Sportsbetting.com, the Dodgers are listed at 2-1 to win the National League West this season. They are given the edge over San Diego (11-4) and defending NL champion Colorado (7-2) but trail Arizona, which is posted at 7-4. San Francisco is considered a longshot at 15-1

It also should be noted that under former manager Grady Little, the Dodgers finished 82-80 in 2007 but with Joe Torre taking over this season, oddsmakers have posted the Dodgers’ over/under win total at 86.5, according to VegasInsider.com.

Since 1997, the Dodgers have surpassed this total only three times (2006, 2004 and 2002).

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lonnie.white@latimes.com