FanHouse JoshMcRoberts

NBA FanHouse walks through the Valley of the Most Likely; we shall fear no topic.

Is Josh McRoberts still in the NBA? Why yes, yes he is. McRoberts landed in lovely Indiana as a result of the Jerryd Bayless heist executed by Kevin Pritchard. If the Pacers are selling white-boy these days (suggested but doubtful), McBob fits right in. I mean, come on, he went to Duke. In the world of basketball, that entry on your profile comes with a halo.

McBob isn't all he seems, though. You wouldn't catch angelic Danny Granger or St. T.J. Ford hanging out with Lauren Conrad of The Hills ... but that's exactly how McBob spent his rookie year in Oregon. Actually, that time would probably be spent in Los Angeles. LC doesn't do Oregon. And while the starlet didn't take a shine to Josh's game, he clearly loved his moment in the paparazzi spotlight and thirsts for more.

The new 90210 needs a crossover draw. McRoberts needs to see his name on TMZ. The Pacers visit the Lakers on January 9. Make it happen, Hollywood!

Others receiving consideration:
Spencer Hawes, who taped an episode of Sunset Tan the day after Sacramento's season closer last year.
Monta Ellis, who has an important message about the dangers of low-speed mopeds.

Blazers preseason tickets kept little value once Greg Oden got microfracture surgery. The news star guard Brandon Roy will likely sit out the entire exhibition season doesn't help.

"Right now, my thought is he won't play in the preseason," [coach Nate] McMillan said. "(The exhibition schedule) is not important. What is important is that we have him for the season."

Portland fans are handling it well, of course. Here's Dave of Blazers Edge:

For those who are asking, by the way, the curse will be officially dispersed one week from Saturday, burn pile and all. We'll announce what's going on and provide pictures and such. Just cross your fingers that Lamarcus Aldridge doesn't trip and get a concussion before then, falling right on Channing Frye's knee, blowing out the knee and causing Frye to involuntarily spasm, leading to the ball he was holding flying from his hands and hitting the back of Sergio's head, causing his left eyeball to fall out of its socket which grosses Jarrett Jack out so much he runs away and never comes back. That would be bad.

Even Josh McRoberts is mucking things up, sporting the most swollen ankle Jack's ever seen. (Pretty good prediction from Dave there.) As The Oregonian's Jason Quick tells it, that ankle sprain caused McMillan to cancel Thursday night practice. This whole month's just turning into a waste of time for the Blazers, isn't it?

Previously on FanHouse:
The Return of Brandon Roy's Nagging Ankle Pain

You had better enjoy any Josh McRoberts news while you can get it, because chances are he won't be around in the public eye too much longer. The former Duke star, and Blazers' second-rounder, probably doesn't have much career ahead of him. And sadly, he can't even take advantage of what little fame he's got. McRoberts had been photographed out on the town with reality show starlet Lauren Conrad, of The Hills fame. Alas, their love was fleeting.

From Blazers Blog, via We Are the Postmen:

... according to insiders, if Lauren was hoping for a slam-dunk in game of love when she recently stepped out with NBA rookie Josh McRoberts, she was sorely mistaken. While the pair was seen leaving Hollywood hotspot Les Deux on July 17 holding hands, the date was actually a dud. "She thinks he's immature," says the insider. "It was the first and last date."

In approximately two years, readers from the future will look back at this post and wonder why it ever happened. If these two know what's good for them, by then they will have realized they're meant for each other, and settled down in well-deserved anonymity.Sorry, No Photos

Crystal Ballin' takes a team-by-team look at what should, could, and probably will happen in the June 28th NBA Draft.

Needs: A scoring big man. This is a jump shooting team, and having a legitimate threat in the paint would go a long way toward helping space the defense.

Best Case Scenario: Yi Jianlian. Although he has the size (7-0) the Bulls are looking for, he's not strictly an interior player. Even so, his ceiling is too high to pass up, and the Bulls would love to see him fall into their laps. Alternatively, Joakim Noah would be a nice surprise. His skill-set is definitely a bit similar to Ben Wallace's as primarily an energy guy blocking shots and chasing down rebounds, but he can do a bit more with the ball in his hands.

More Likely Scenario: Spencer Hawes. For a guy who stands seven-feet tall, he faces a surprising number of questions about his rebounding and toughness. But he'll have some help in that regard with Wallace. Down the road, you'd like to see Hawes fill out a bit, but all he'd really need to focus on as a rookie is his scoring around the basket.

Since NBA FanHouse has six bloggers repping five teams each throughout the year, they've convinced themselves that they should be the next hotshot GMs. So here's who they think their teams will draft next Thursday: Picks #1-10, picks #11-20 and picks #21-30.

11. Hawks (TheHype) pick: Acie Law, Texas A&M -- a great snatch for Atlanta having Law still available, it'll make for an awesome backcourt (then again, anything over Tyronne Lue is an upgrade)

12. Sixers (Tom Ziller) pick: Jeff Green, Georgetown -- While Javaris Crittenton would have served as a nice prospect behind the aging Andre Miller, you can't pass up Jeff Green here, especially considering Philly's immediate frontcourt needs. (And yes, Spencer Hawes is officially sweating in the green room.)

13. New Orleans (The Big Lead) pick: Al Thornton, Florida State -- Behind Durant, he's the second best pure scoring small forward in the draft.

14. L.A. Clippers (Brett Edwards) pick: Javaris Crittenton, Georgia Tech -- The Clippers have to address the mess at point guard, so if Crittenton's still available at 14 he will fall no further.

15. Detroit Pistons (Matt Watson) pick: Spencer Hawes, Washington -- Yes, he could easily turn out being a stiff, but given the guys currently under contract in Detroit, the bar isn't set too high for him to actually start from Day 1.

If Duke's Josh McRoberts ever gets good enough to play in the NBA (and after witnessing this, I guess anything is possible), he'll already have the traveling thing down. Way back in December, MJD documented McRoberts tap dancing all over the floor in a game against Kent State. And now, Saved by the Blog has the video of McRobert's cheating in last night's loss against the Terps:

SBTB notes that Mike Patrick, who called the game with Dick Vitale, busted out the obligatory, "good no call," followed by, "...nah, I think that's a flop." Um, unless "flop" is old people talk for "McRoberts is a bigger, goofier version of Greg Paulus," then I think Patrick might want to borrow Vitale's one good eye and take another look.

For the record, Vitale managed to take off his Duke-colored monocle for a second and actually admitted that McRoberts probably should've been called for charging on the play ... I mean, since he wasn't called for traveling.

Oddly, both of these ridiculous calls took place in Cameron Indoor Stadium. I am shocked -- SHOCKED! -- that Duke gets calls at home. SHOCKED!!