The difference in effort and execution between Friday and Saturday night is exactly the type of inconsistency that drives New York Knicks fans crazy. And maybe it also proves how difficult back-to-backs can be.

New York lost to the Clippers 144-122 on Saturday night, and Mitchell Robinson's injury was very apparent. The Knicks lost the rebounding battle (42-39), allowed the Clippers to shoot 57 percent from the field (the Clippers are shooting 48 percent on the entire season), and were on the wrong end of one major highlight:

So, what happened? Have the Clippers figured it out? They were winners of six straight games prior to Saturday night. The win over the Knicks made it seven-in-a-row and eight out of their last 10. Further, James Harden is jelling with his new teammates after joining the Clippers on November 6, Russell Westbrook's voluntary move to the bench seems to be working, and Kawhi Leonard and Paul George remain (surprisingly) healthy.

Knicks road woes evident

Knicks' Mitchell Robinson looking serious

Undoubtedly, credit must be paid to the Clippers. But the Knicks’ poor performance probably also had something to do with their playing badly on the road (and on the West Coast, no less). And the fact that it was the back end of a back-to-back made it even more difficult. Saturday night's game tipped off at approximately 7:30 pm local time, which translates to 10:30 pm Eastern Time, and was the third straight game on the road in a matter of only four nights.

Tom Thibodeau's Knicks are only 1-3 on the back end of back-to-backs this season and only 7-8 on the road in total. While back-to-backs in the middle of road trips are undoubtedly difficult, struggles on the road are not — at least for good teams. Only one of the five teams ahead of the Knicks in the Eastern Conference standings also possess a losing road record so far this season, the Orlando Magic.

For what it’s worth, the 2022-23 Knicks, a team that ended last season with a 47-35 record, went 24-17 on the road, good for a .585 winning percentage. So, while New York should not spend too much time thinking about back-to-backs on the road, the road itself should be squarely in focus.

Last season's iteration of the team made it to the Eastern Conference Semifinals, where they lost to the Miami Heat. The Knicks would obviously love to advance beyond the second-round of the Playoffs, which also happens to match their deepest run since 1999. But here’s a silver lining, if the recent past is to be trusted, posting a winning record on the road is not a necessity to reach the Conference Finals. Three of the four Conference Finalists from last season had losing records on the road through the regular season. But those three teams boasted the NBA's all-time leading scorer in LeBron James and an incredible discipline and work ethic thanks to Heat culture, respectively, while the third ultimately became the 2022-23 NBA Champions. The Knicks don't appear to possess any of those attributes.

Now some other bad news for Knicks' fans: the road trip isn't over yet. The Knicks will face the Los Angeles Lakers next on Monday night. And while staying in the same city for consecutive nights can be beneficial, Los Angeles, with a night life that rivals the country's best, can be trouble for some teams. So, the Knicks' maturity will be tested on Monday night as much as anything.

After Monday, the Knicks head back to New York for their first match-up of the season with the Brooklyn Nets. Brooklyn has historically provided a quasi-home court advantage for the Knicks. But their not-so-happy homecoming will be short lived. They'll return to Madison Square Garden for back-to-back games against the Milwaukee Bucks before hitting the road again for three straight games against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Orlando Magic and Indiana Pacers.

Ultimately, the Knicks must figure out their away game woes, and soon. Realistically, the Knicks can't expect to secure anything higher than the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. In securing the fourth seed, they will likely be on the road more often than not in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, as well as the Conference Finals (assuming they advance there). So, whatever is going wrong on the road, the time to fix it is now for New York.