Caron Butler hopes for early return to action despite broken hand

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Perhaps it’s wishful thinking on the part of Clippers small forward Caron Butler, but he said, “If there’s a will, there’s a way,” regarding the possibility of his playing before the first-round series with Memphis is over.

Butler will see a hand specialist Thursday in Los Angeles after the Clippers return home to determine how bad his fractured left hand is.

The diagnosis said Butler would be out four to six weeks with the injury, meaning the earliest he could return would be the end of May.

Butler, who was replaced in the starting lineup for Game 2 Wednesday night by Bobby Simmons, was injured in the third quarter of Sunday’s night’s game when his hand got caught in Rudy Gay’s jersey.

“I haven’t done anything with a basketball yet, but I do know that I injured it early in the third quarter and I still was able to play and be effective,” Butler said. “I just knew something was wrong and I knew something wasn’t feeling right. I’ll go see the specialist tomorrow and see what they come up with.”

An eye-opener for Jordan

For the first time in his three-year career, Clippers center DeAndre Jordan is in the playoffs.

When the Clippers came onto the court for warmups for Game 1 on Sunday, Jordan was taken aback.

“You know when you come out and you hear, ‘Booo!’ But when we came out, it was some worse stuff than boos, man,” Jordan said. “The names they called us, man.”

Jordan said he couldn’t repeat those names.

“When you usually come out for warmups, you maybe see fans in the lower bowl and none in the upper deck,” Jordan said. “But the whole arena was packed. They were already in here and I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, this is what they were talking about, the playoffs.’”

Jordan scored just five points, grabbed seven rebounds and blocked two shots in Game 1. He had six points and eight rebounds in Game 2.

“I just have to do my job,” Jordan said. “I have to play defense and if I score, it’s going to be a bonus. I just want to lock some people up. I’ve got a real tough task. I’ve got to guard Marc [Gasol], Z-Bo [ Zach Randolph]. But I love doing that.”

Etc.

Chris Paul finished 13th in the voting for the NBA’s defensive player of the year award that went to New York’s Tyson Chandler. Paul, who led the NBA in steals during the regular season with 2.53 per game, got five total points.

broderick.turner@latimes.com

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