Kravitz: Bird Can't Miss

Bob Kravitz used his Sunday column to express a feeling we all share -- Bird can't miss on draft day.

This is a critical draft at a critical time for the Indiana Pacers franchise. No, the 11th pick in the draft isn't going to make the Pacers championship contenders. The fortunes of the franchise won't rely on this one player. But, the player taken this year has to help. He has to pull his weight in the team's efforts to move in a winning direction.

Ultimately, Larry Bird will make the call and hold all the responsibility for how the pick turns out. The pressure is on.

As a player, nobody loved pressure situations quite like Bird. And nine times out of 10, or even more, he delivered. Now he's got to do the same thing this offseason as the team's sole architect.

The ball is in his hands again, and it's crunch time.

When you think about this pick as helping the team rather than saving the team. DJ Augustin does make a litte more sense. He seems like a more reliable pick who can defintely play a role for a winning team.

I'm still more interested in Russell Westbrook and taking the gamble that he'll develop into a fabulous NBA player. Then if it doesn't work out, I can just blame Bird.