SPORTS WATCH : Playoff Bound

In a history replete with disappointment, the Los Angeles Clippers basketball franchise has endured the snows of Buffalo and sought vainly for a reversal of fortune under the warm sun of San Diego. Now, after too many Rodney Dangerfield nights, and witnessing changes of name, coaches and ownership, the fans have their own L.A. Story to celebrate.

The Clippers have made the playoffs for the first time since the team, as the old Buffalo Braves, did it in the 1975-76 season. They came in under the wire Thursday night by narrowly defeating the weakest team in the league. But still, a trip to the playoffs, however long or short the journey, is a milestone to be savored.

And just as a Clippers ticket shapes up as a hot one for next season, the team is considering an offer by developers of Anaheim’s new $100-million sports arena to play some home games there in the 1993-94 campaign. That would be good for the arena, which, without a major league franchise of its own yet, has put up a brave face in confronting an uncertain future. A dozen National Basketball Assn. games--the number being proposed--is better than no games. It could draw the attention of pro sports teams looking for a new home.

There is precedent for such an arrangement; the Boston Celtics, for example, play some games in Hartford. The Clippers are far from hanging 16 championship banners from the rafters as the Celtics have done, but games in Anaheim could solidify regional support and provide an auspicious encore for this overdue playoff season.