POR 122, MEM 114: Holiday, Grant Both Feast for POR
Destiny Williams
Math Teacher & Basketball Coach ยท Atlanta Hawks fan
Jrue Holiday Goes Nuclear in Portland W, but Memphis' Bench Saves Your Season
Jrue Holiday just reminded everyone why he's chasing All-NBA money. The man put up 57.5 Yahoo points on a 13-19 shooting night with 8 threes, and honestly, if you benched him you deserve whatever happens in your playoffs. But here's the real story from Portland's 122-114 win over Memphis: the Grizzlies' role players showed up like they had something to prove, and that changes how you're building your roster for the stretch run.
| Player | ESPN FP | Yahoo FP | Tonight | Season Avg | +/- Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jrue Holiday | 75.0 | 57.5 | 35/5/11 | 16.0/4.6/6.2 | +19.0 |
| Jerami Grant | 48.0 | 46.6 | 30/8/4 | 18.5/3.5/2.3 | +11.5 |
| Robert Williams III | 48.0 | 43.2 | 20/11/0 | 6.4/6.5/1.1 | +13.6 |
| Cam Spencer | 41.0 | 36.9 | 12/7/7 | 11.4/2.6/5.5 | +0.6 |
| Jaylen Wells | 41.0 | 35.6 | 24/3/2 | 12.5/3.3/1.7 | +11.5 |
| GG Jackson | 30.0 | 33.3 | 20/4/1 | 10.5/4.2/1.4 | +9.5 |
| Olivier-Maxence Prosper | 26.0 | 33.3 | 17/9/1 | 7.6/3.1/0.9 | +9.4 |
| Javon Small | 32.0 | 32.9 | 11/7/5 | 7.7/2.7/3.5 | +3.3 |
| Donovan Clingan | 33.0 | 32.3 | 7/9/1 | 11.8/11.5/2.2 | -4.8 |
| Walter Clayton Jr. | 30.0 | 29.4 | 12/2/8 | 7.1/2.0/3.7 | +4.9 |
Portland Won This, But Memphis Built Something
Let me get the obvious out of the way: Jrue Holiday cooked. +19 points above his season average on elite efficiency (13-19 FG, 8-8 from three). That's not a projection, that's not optimistic, that's just facts. If you have him, you won. But I'm more interested in what happened on the losing side because it tells you something about next week.
Jerami Grant put up 46.6 Yahoo points with 30 points on 11-19 shooting. That's a +11.5 above his season line and the second-best performance of the night. He stayed on the court for 36 minutes, which is exactly what you want to see from a SF who's been dealing with usage questions. Grant showed up for a road loss in a way that makes me trust his floor going forward.
But here's the thing that's actually wild: Memphis lost by 8, and their bench might have single-handedly kept them in this game.
Jaylen Wells dropped 24 points on 8-15 shooting with four threes. That's +11.5 above his season scoring average. GG Jackson went 8-18 but still got to 20 points and his rebounds came through when Memphis needed them. Olivier-Maxence Prosper is the one that made my coaching brain sit up straight, though. Dude put up 17 points and 9 rebounds in 33 minutes. His season average is 7.6/3.1. We're talking a +9.4 point performance on solid efficiency (5-13 FG, 5-10 FT).
This is the bench depth conversation Memphis needed. When your role players step up like this, it means your system is working, which means it's probably going to work again. Cam Spencer ran the offense (7 assists in 28 minutes) and Javon Small gave you the kind of glue-guy performance that keeps games close. Spencer was basically at season average, which is exactly what you want from your backup point guard.
The Injury Elephant
Look, I'm not going to spend all day on this, but Memphis was clearly dealing with roster issues. Ja Morant, Scotty Pippen Jr., Santi Aldama, Zach Edey, Ty Jerome and about half their rotation didn't play tonight. That's a rotation emergency. So before you get too excited about Prosper and Wells, understand that some of this is opportunity created by absence, not necessarily sustainable growth.
That said, Santi Aldama is down 0.3% on waivers league-wide, and for good reason. When he gets back, Prosper's minutes are getting cut. Don't add him thinking you found a secret. But if you've got Aldama on your bench and he comes back healthy, you might have something.
Robert Williams III Quietly Built His Case
Robert Williams III put up 43.2 Yahoo points on just 23 minutes. 20 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks, efficient as anything (9-13 FG). That's the kind of per-minute production that matters when you're doing playoff scheduling. Eight blocked shots against a team that doesn't really shoot is noise, but the rebounding and interior scoring are consistent. He's playing meaningful minutes in a playoff rotation and his body is holding up. Not a trade target yet, but worth stashing if your league needs big men.
The Real Fantasy Lesson
Portland won this game because they had their best players play their best basketball on a random Thursday in March. Jrue Holiday was phenomenal, Jerami Grant delivered, and Robert Williams III did his job. That's playoff recipe right there.
Memphis lost, but their bench showed enough that I'm not panicking on any of them except Santi Aldama (who clearly isn't ready). If Prosper keeps getting 30+ minutes and Wells stays in the rotation, both guys have legitimate value in deeper leagues. Spencer's your waiver wire grab if you need a backup PG with assist upside.
And if you own Donovan Clingan and you're wondering why he only played 12 minutes, welcome to the club. Limited touch tonight, -4.8 on season average, but he's still a build-around piece when he gets real run. This wasn't about him.
Your move: hold your guys from Portland, don't panic on Memphis' role players unless you know Morant and the missing guys are out long-term, and remember that March performances from benches don't always mean April minutes. Depth is good. Opportunity created by injury is temporary.