Caron Butler suffered a fractured fifth metacarpal in his left hand with 2:38 remaining in the third quarter of last night’s 99-98 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies in game one of their first round playoff series.

Butler underwent an x-ray at the arena during the game which confirmed the injury.

Several sources say Clippers' GM Neil Olshey never considered firing Vinny Del Negro, who was the subject of multiple rumors about his imminent departure.

“I’ve watched too many times where a front office brings in its own players, and the coaches aren’t on board and you end up with a separation of church and state,” Olshey said. “This was always our team.”

Olshey also went out of his way to consult with Del Negro in choosing the roster as he constructed this team around Blake Griffin and Chris Paul.

Caron Butler fractured his left hand during the third quarter of the Clippers' Game 1 win over Memphis.

Butler's status for the remainder of the playoffs has not been determined.

Chauncey Billups has served as a mentor to DeAndre Jordan this season.

Billups played with Ben Wallace for many seasons and he believes Jordan could have a similar impact.

Jordan will play a big role in the Clippers' first round series against the Grizzlies.

"For us to have an excellent opportunity in this series, DJ is going to have to play very well, just like everybody," Vinny Del Negro said.

"I have to be our defensive anchor," Jordan said. "Just kind of be everybody's safety net. Me back there gives everybody a lot of more confidence to gamble [on defense]. And then I have to rebound, be one of the leaders, especially on the defensive end."

Billups talks to Jordan at practice, video sessions, shoot-arounds and during the game.

"He's been very receptive," Billups said. "He wants to be looked at like one of the best defenders in the league.

"But it's a process and sometimes I've got to slow myself down and remember that he is young and he doesn't have a lot of experience. I'm talking about a finished product in Ben Wallace and not the first stages. I think that DJ can certainly get there. He has a little ways to go, but he's locked into trying to get there and that's the most important thing."

Chris Paul sat out Wednesday's loss at New York, but he expects to be ready for the start of the playoffs this weekend.

The Clippers will play the Grizzlies in the first round.

"Yeah, I'll be OK," Paul said of his strained left groin.

Paul also said that there is "no question" he will play.

Vinny Del Negro preferred helping Paul heal rather than seek homecourt advantage against Memphis.

"The most important thing is to be smart about it, look at the big picture," Del Negro said. "Chris needs to be healthy, whether we're home or away, so that he can play at a high level for us. If he had played tonight and irritated it or there was some swelling or maybe it got worse and then we play Saturday or Sunday and it's a quick turnaround, I didn't think it was worth the risk."

Chris Paul is questionable for Wednesday's game after suffering a mild left groin strain.

Paul is listed as questionable for Wednesday, a game that would mean homecourt advantage in the first round against Memphis if they win.

"I'm all right," Paul said. "At some point, something didn't feel right, but I'll be OK. I'll be ready to go as soon as they throw that all up."

The Clippers have recalled Travis Leslie from the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Development League.

Leslie has been with the Jam since March 30, and appeared in four playoff games with Bakersfield. In two separate stints with the Jam this season, Leslie appeared in 10 regular season games and averaged 10.2 points, 1.4 assists, 3.2 rebounds and shot 50.4 percent from the field in 20.4 minutes per game.

Chris Paul has emerged as a potential replacement for NBA Players Association president Derek Fisher.

"We can't, by bylaws, say who is going to be the president. That would have to go to a vote," NBPA vice president Mo Evans said. "Chris Paul's name may circulate as one of the players who could fulfill that role, given that he's a younger player (at 26), on the executive committee and played a huge role during the lockout. He has the respect of a lot of players."

The NBPA executive committee voted 8-0 for Fisher’s resignation, according to a statement the committee released late Friday.

Fisher has called for "an independent review of the business practices and finances" of the Players Association.

The Clippers and Grizzlies could meet in the first round of the playoffs, which made Monday's matchup an important test from the perspective of Rudy Gay.

Memphis hadn't defeated the Clippers this season before their 94-85 victory in which six players scored in double figures.

"We had no chance of winning the tiebreaker against them," said Gay. "We knew that, but we still wanted to beat them. It was a statement game. We know we can beat them. We knew that the first two games, we just didn't play well." 

Blake Griffin was retroactively given a flagrant-one foul for his shove of Pau Gasol in Wednesday's game.

The Lakers had asked the NBA to take a closer examination of three plays from the game involving Griffin.