POR 131, IND 111: Henderson, Avdija Both Feast for POR
Jake Morrison
Computer Science Student ยท Dallas Mavericks fan
Scoot Henderson Goes Nuclear, But Trail Blazers Win Was A Bench Battle
Portland 131, Indiana 110 was the game nobody expected to be close, and honestly, the fantasy story here is weird because the Blazers basically won on the back of complete bench chaos while their stars underperformed. Let me break down what actually happened.
| Player | ESPN FP | Yahoo FP | Tonight | Season Avg | +/- Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scoot Henderson | 58.0 | 46.6 | 28/3/6 | 12.9/2.8/4.5 | +15.1 |
| Deni Avdija | 45.0 | 44.0 | 18/5/8 | 24.3/7.0/6.7 | -6.3 |
| Pascal Siakam | 35.0 | 40.7 | 22/6/5 | 24.0/6.7/3.9 | -2.0 |
| Jay Huff | 40.0 | 40.7 | 16/6/1 | 9.3/3.9/1.3 | +6.7 |
| Jerami Grant | 39.0 | 33.9 | 21/2/1 | 18.9/3.5/2.3 | +2.1 |
| Andrew Nembhard | 35.0 | 32.9 | 14/2/9 | 17.1/2.8/7.4 | -3.1 |
| Donovan Clingan | 29.0 | 30.7 | 9/11/3 | 11.8/11.5/2.1 | -2.8 |
| Jrue Holiday | 39.0 | 30.1 | 21/3/3 | 16.8/4.5/6.3 | +4.2 |
| Robert Williams III | 27.0 | 23.4 | 12/7/2 | 6.9/6.7/1.1 | +5.1 |
| Jarace Walker | 27.0 | 23.1 | 14/3/1 | 11.2/5.0/2.3 | +2.8 |
The Scoot Show (Finally)
Scoot Henderson absolutely cooked for 46.6 Yahoo points, which is a massive outlier compared to his 12.9 PPG average. He went 10-15 from the field, 5-6 from the line, and hit three threes. This is the kid everyone drafted hoping he'd eventually figure it out, and for one night, he did.
Here's the thing though. You can't take one game and assume the trajectory changed. He's been boom or bust all season. The 26 minutes is also notable, which means Portland wasn't grinding him into the fourth quarter. This looks more like a rhythm game where everything fell than a sustainable new level. Don't go selling your starters to buy Scoot stock on this one performance. But if you have him on the bench in deeper leagues, tonight proves he has the ceiling to matter.
The Weird Bench Energy Won This Game
Pascal Siakam put up 40.7 Yahoo FP but was still -2.0 from his season average. He got his 22 points but shot 9-20 and didn't really take over. Meanwhile, Jay Huff came off the bench with 40.7 Yahoo FP in just 21 minutes with five blocks. That's the story that matters. Huff was an absolute glitch defensively and on the glass (6 boards in 21 min is crazy).
The deeper issue? Deni Avdija dropped -6.3 from his season average with a 24-minute limit. At 44 Yahoo FP, he still produced, but the minutes restriction is something to monitor. Combined with Jrue Holiday going +4.2 but only playing 25 minutes, Portland's rotation looked like they were managing playoff ramp-up minutes, not playing to win a random March game.
Indiana Got Completely Outworked
Andrew Nembhard went -3.1 from his average with 32.9 Yahoo FP in 27 minutes. He was fine but not special. Jarace Walker actually had +2.8 from his average with 23.1 Yahoo FP, which is one of the few bright spots for Indy.
But here's what killed Indiana: Tyrese Haliburton didn't play. That's the whole ballgame right there. Without him running the offense, Nembhard handled it but this team isn't built to compete without Haliburton on the court. I'm not seeing injury notes in the report, so I'm not sure if this was load management or what, but if he's dealing with something heading into the playoffs, that's a massive red flag for anyone rostering Pacers pieces.
The Real Winner: Portland's Bench Unit
Robert Williams III went +5.1 from his average with 23.4 Yahoo FP in just 20 minutes. Toumani Camara had 22.2 Yahoo FP and crushed glass with 11 rebounds in 28 minutes. These aren't your fantasy stars, but in a game where minutes got scattered and the Blazers just merked the Pacers on the glass, depth pieces went off.
This is the kind of game that pumps up role player ownership in waiver wire pickups, but honestly, I wouldn't chase it. This looked like one team took the game seriously and the other didn't, especially with Haliburton out. The Blazers' bench got time because they were blowing out Indiana, not because they've suddenly become fantasy gold.
What To Do After This
Don't panic on Deni Avdija. One game on a minutes limit doesn't end a guy, especially if Portland's managing workload. But keep your eye on his minutes going forward, because if this was a sign of things to come, his scoring could take a hit.
Scoot Henderson had the fantasy game of the year tonight, but one 46-point night doesn't make him a waiver wire target in 10-team leagues. Deeper formats, sure, but you need two or three more performances like this before you're confident.
The bigger question is Tyrese Haliburton. If he was being rested, fine. If there's an issue, that completely changes Pacers fantasy value. I'd check on that before tomorrow's waiver wire moves.