NBA is in 3 of a bind

WATCHING (or no longer watching) the NBA destroy itself:

At first glance one would think that Grizzlies 89, Heat 85 on Wednesday, was a good, old-values NBA game: strong defense, patient offense, determined play, wellcoached at both ends.

But in such cases these days, such a low-scoring game is more indicative of a rotten-shooting 3-point game. And that’s what it was. There were 76 3-pointers thrown up — Miami was 8-for-34 (23.5 percent), Memphis was 10-for 42 (23.8 percent).

By the way, the Mavericks’ 7-foot-3 Kristaps Porzingis went into the weekend with 45 offensive rebounds, but had taken 149 3-pointers. Career: 450 offensive rebounds, 1,337 3-point attempts. Yet the No. 4-overall pick in the 2015 draft — by the Knicks — is still listed as a power forward/center.

Despite a nation in large part stuck at home and the relentless encouragement to maximize viewership by betting on the game, this year’s NBA All-Star Game TV ratings were miserable, a new low, off 1.32 million viewers from last season, and down a titanic 17 million viewers since 1993.

➤ To hear Charles Barkley try to again fake his way through NCAA Tournament studio shows has made for the kind of putdown comedy Barkley flings at others.

➤ Ex-NBA-er Brendan Haywood, the analyst who worked Arkansas-Colgate on Turner/CBS on Friday, was good throughout, but especially early, noting Colgate’s shocking 14-point lead was in large part due to Arkansas’ unassertive defense. The defense tightened, the game flipped.

➤ Good stat call by CBS’s Seth Davis on Friday: In its three-point loss to 15-seed Oral Roberts, Ohio State was a rotten 9-for-18 on free throws.

➤ The radio call of the Drake Wichita State NCAA Tournament play-in on Thursday, a Westwood One broadcast over WFAN, was Marv Albert-superb. Unless play-by-player John Sadek was making it all up, he quickly, succinctly described both logistics and play, down to a shot that hit the rim, then the backboard, before it was rebounded.