The Lakers’ home sellout streak ended at 270 games Tuesday night when the team drew 18,426, just short of the capacity of 18,997. As we all known, NBA League is not only a simple combination of different basketball teams, but also a “business world”. Lakers is no doubt one of the leading companies. But the unsold ticket and the end of their impressive record have shown that its “business” performance is now experiencing a decline.
When customers make a decision, they first make an expectation in their mind and then test it by purchasing the product. This may help us explain the reason behind the decline. With the injury of Kobe and lost of Howard, Lakers is now not as attractive as it was in the last year. Thus, for the audience whose expectation of Laker’s match is to see a play of Kobe or Howard, their expectation cannot be meet now. As a result, a decline in the demand is inevitable. POD theory can also help us explain the reason. In the past, Kobe is the POD of Lakers, but now it is harder for Lakers to keep their customers as they lose their POD.
source