Sixers Notes: 76ers' boss cheered by attendance

From the business side of things, the 76ers have had a very good season, according to CEO Adam Aron. Before Tuesday's game against Indiana, the Sixers' last one at home in the regular season, Aron talked about what this year has been like from the ownership side and what fans can look forward to.

"The ownership group is smart, dedicated, committed, deep-pocketed, and we will do what it takes to give Philadelphia the winning team that it wants - for the long haul," Aron said.

When the new group, headed by majority owner Josh Harris, met with the media for the first time in October, the theme was trying to find a way to be fan-friendly, to make going to a Sixers game fun again. The numbers show that it has succeeded: Going into Tuesday's game, the average home attendance was 17,457, which ranked 15th in the 30-team NBA. That is the highest per-game average for the Sixers since 2004-05, when the number was 17,870 - 10th in the league. Last season the Sixers were 25th, averaging 14,751.

"We came in with sober eyes and we thought it might take two, three, or four years to get the Sixers front and center again in Philadelphia," Aron said.

Those eyes no doubt glazed over early in the season when the team won 12 of its first 14 games at home, most by impressive margins. But reality has set in, and the Sixers find themselves hovering around the .500 mark, struggling to make the postseason.

In that aspect, not much appears to have changed. But Aron believes it is coming.

"Since Feb. 1 we've averaged between 19,000 and 20,000 a game. So, essentially, we've played to full houses in February, March, and April. That's good for everybody in the building, it's good for the fans, it's great for our players - it gives them a home-court advantage. I think we've made great progress there.

"Looking ahead, the ownership group of the 76ers has caught the fever," he said. "We have the disease. The disease is called we want to win, and we want to win bad."