Small forward Paul George led the Indiana Pacers with 20 points in a losing effort against the New York Knicks in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

And yet, the game typified the Pacers effort so far in the 2013 NBA Playoffs: the better (and much more balanced) team much of the time, but at other times almost disinterested. When it counted the most in New York’s Game 2, the Knicks went on an inexplicable 30-2 run to win the game quite easily. How does this happen? And who is to blame?

Pacers Head Coach Frank Vogel has received some criticism for an ill-advised timeout and substitution pattern. To which, he responded, to Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star, “You’ve got to use the bench at some point.”

The dominant New York run and Game 2 victory did not stop Kravitz, along with Charles Barkley, from stating his observation and prediction that the Pacers have the better team and will go on to win the series.

Vogel’s response in this instance doesn’t sound super convincing to me, but on the other hand, it’s hard to blame a 28-point swing on coaching alone. How did the Pacers players allow such a thing to happen?

Perhaps the Pacers youthfulness has something do with this, but the inconsistency has been present for the entire playoffs. In their 4-2 first-round victory over the Atlantic Hawks, for example, both losses were by double digits. Game 3 was especially concerning, with the Hawks winning by 21 points.

After two straight road losses against the Hawks, the Pacers got serious again and closed out the series. Will this unpredictability continue?

Don’t get me wrong, losing games in the playoffs is inevitable. But the concern is that when the Pacers aren’t at their best, it almost seems like they stop fighting. A Game 2 loss to the Knicks by three or four would be a lot different psychologically than a loss by 26.

Like Kravitz and Barkley, the first couple games have shown me that the Pacers are the more equipped of the two teams to win the series and battle the Miami Heat (or Chicago Bulls) in the Eastern Conference finals. But it really would be nice to see the same gritty group showing up every night.

May 1, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers guard George Hill (3) guards Atlanta Hawks guard Devin Harris (34) in game five of the first round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Indiana defeats Atlanta 106-83. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

The Indiana Pacers are going to face off once again against the Atlanta Hawks tonight. In the last game they dominated most of the game and wouldn’t let the Atlanta Hawks get comfortable. In fact, they’ve done that during all of their home games. If you just looked at the film from the games played in Bankers Life Field House, you would say that the Indiana Pacers are clearly the dominate team. You might even be shocked to hear that the Atlanta Hawks even won a single game. The truth is that the Atlanta Hawks have beaten them two times, both times in Atlanta.

There is no excuse for the way that Indiana played in Atlanta. They have been terrible. If you only looked at the film from the games played in Atlanta you’d be surprised that the Pacers even made it to the playoffs, let alone were a three seed.

The Pacers made a great 47% of their field goals in the games in Indianapolis. The problem is that they were only shooting 32% in Atlanta. The Indiana Pacers have not been able to win in Atlanta for several seasons now. This has to change tonight.

They need to get the confidence of winning on the road because they will have to win on the road to win any future series. Frank Vogel said that in Indianapolis they “play a different brand of basketball.” They play the Pacer way. Tonight they need to bring their minds to Indianapolis. They need to bring it home and play like the dominating team that they are.