CLIPPER UPDATE : An Untimely Court Date for Roberts

Clipper center Stanley Roberts, who began working out with the team last Friday after reporting to camp overweight, will skip the final two days of two-a-day workouts because he had to fly to Raleigh, N.C., Monday morning for an appearance today in traffic court.

Roberts, who got a speeding ticket while he was at the Duke Diet and Fitness Center last summer, was ordered to appear after failing to appear at the original hearing.

Clipper officials were not happy about Roberts’ absence.

Coach Bill Fitch said Roberts did extra work at Sunday night’s practice and was given a conditioning program to follow while he is away.

“We gave him an extra dose when the rest of the guys were taking naps,” Fitch said. “But he’ll miss the scrimmage part. He’ll miss two conditioning (workouts), but we’ve been double hard on him. He’s got a routine he has to do while he’s on the road.”

Fitch also thinks he might have cured Roberts of speeding.

After seeing him speed out of the parking lot after a Clipper practice, Fitch ordered Roberts to run extra laps as punishment.

Clipper Notes

Forward Harold Ellis sprained his right ankle when he landed awkwardly when he tried to block a shot in a scrimmage Monday night. The severity of the injury was not immediately known, but Ellis was taken to an emergency room for X-rays, which were negative. Ellis, who had never sprained an ankle before, was in considerable pain. He thinks the injury might have occurred because he was wearing new shoes that offered no ankle support. . . . Rookie forward Lamond Murray, who signed a $13.5-million, five-year contract Friday, is expected to make his NBA debut in Wednesday night’s exhibition against the Atlanta Hawks at the Sports Arena. . . . Terry Dehere, who was drafted as a shooting guard last season, was used at point guard in Saturday’s 114-109 exhibition victory over the Sacramento Kings.