The Houston Rockets are 17 games into the season and have not won a road game. More incredibly, they've won one basketball game total. This is going to go down as the second consecutive season the Rockets lose at least 15-straight games in a row. Even the worst teams in basketball win a game or two occasionally. They're somehow getting to a new rock-bottom every few days.

Let's break down what was important to take away from Houston's 15th straight loss.

Rockets Takeaways Following Celtics Loss

1. Christian Wood was non-existent

If Christian Wood isn't aggressive on the offensive end, the Rockets have no chance of winning basketball games. He is by far their most talented offensive player and on Sunday night he only attempted six field goal attempts. Al Horford is a very good defender, but there should never be games where Wood is not attempting double digit field goals.

“I need him to be aggressive, for sure,” said Stephen Silas after the game. “Their switching definitely hurt us and took him out of some of the things that he does well which is his pick and pops and attacking closeouts. But I told him when he gets the ball, be ready. Be ready to shoot it. He had the one where he attacked the closeout and got the dunk. Playing with more force that way will definitely help.”

2. Third quarter collapses are getting repetitive

It's become the same old story for the Rockets every other game. They'll compete in the first half of games and then completely let go of the rope in the third quarter. Tonight, the Rockets ended the first half down by five and ended the third quarter down by 23. They have good energy going downhill in the first half of games and can't maintain that energy. Then when they miss open shots, they seem to look defeated and not run back defensively.

“I thought we lost our energy,” said Silas. “It looked like there was some fatigue that set in as a result of this long road trip.”

This reasoning would make sense if this was the first time Houston let go of the rope like this. However, this is a common occurance and a big reason they haven't gotten their second win of the season yet.

3. Confident Armoni Brooks and Garrison Matthews are fun

Garrison Matthews knows exactly why he's in the NBA and he'll remind you of it every time he steps out onto the floor. Not only is he a good three-point shooter, but he's got the confidence that Rockets assistant coach Gerald Green once possessed. When Armoni Brooks stepped into the lineup with him, it felt like some of that confidence rubbed off on him because he went on to attempt eight three-pointers and play 25 minutes as a result of his five makes. When Brooks is letting it fly like that, you can feel his confidence through the television.

Armoni Brooks on Monday:

17 points

3 rebounds

2 assists

5-8 shooting from three-point range

2-3 shooting from the free-throw line

+8 in 25 minutes

Brooks obviously has his warts defensively and unlike Matthews (6'5″, 215 pounds), size will always be an issue for him. However inside that 6'3″, 195-pound frame is one of the purest jumpshots in the NBA. It's just a matter of rounding out the rest of his game and the coaching staff finding opportunities to actually unleash him.