The oil spray holes also lubed the cam and helped cool the pistons.
In a high performance, high RPM engine crank windage is sufficient and extra oil on the cylinder walls could overwhelm the rings causing detonation. So replacement "performance" bearings generally don't have the notch. In a street engine which may spend extensive time at idle or low RPM, the cam can run dry.
I am convinced that a lot of the cam/lifter problems that get blamed on lower zinc levels in current oils, are a result of poor lubrication. Late Jeep 4.0L engines that spend a lot of time "crawling" seem to suffer a lot of lifter and OPDA gear failures. Those which are highway driven last much better.