HOUSTON ELIMINATED FROM CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

5 quick kicks from Dynamo at Tigres UANL

5 quick kicks from Dynamo at Tigres UANL
Alberth Elis and the Houston Dynamo could not overturn a 0-2 deficit against Tigres UANL. Photo by Diego Dlouhy/SportsMap Houston

The Houston Dynamo were eliminated from the Concacaf Champions League after a 0-1 loss (0-3 agg.) against Tigres UANL on Tuesday night. Mexican National Team defender Carlos Salcedo, a former player for MLS club Real Salt Lake, scored the only goal of the match in the 68th minute.

Here are five observations from the loss in Mexico:

1) Had a chance, never took advantage

The Dynamo fared off better on the road than they did a week ago when they lost the first leg at home by a two-nil scoreline. Obviously, the advantage on the scoreboard kept Tigres from being more aggressive but Houston never pounced. Out of the ten shots generated, only one was on target.

Tommy McNamara missed two opportunities in the first half, Mauro Manotas missed a great opportunity in the 50th minute and Alberth Elis could only get about one decent shot off. Getting a goal would have made a very talented, albeit underachieving, Tigres team uneasy with the pressure of getting shocked in front of the home fans.

Unfortunately for the traveling fans, the Dynamo never capitalized on that opportunity. The team was unable to make due of the opportunities they did have (knowing beforehand those would be limited anyway) and lacked that "nothing to lose" gambler's attitude. At least they didn't get blown out, I suppose.

2) Injuries play a part again

Team Captain DaMarcus Beasley had to be subbed off in the 20th minute because of an injury. Fellow defender Maynor Figuroa also had to be substituted due to injury late in the second half. Playmaker Tomas Martinez was left on the bench due to taking licks in the team's MLS opener and the team's most valuable player (arguably) Juan David Cabezas didn't even travel because he has yet to recover from an injury in the club's Champions League opener.

Would a healthy squad fully made a difference against one of the top teams in the region? Maybe it wouldn't. What can be said is that this is a nagging issue that will keep haunting the squad all season if nothing is done about it. The team has essentially expressed that the roster will remain untouched until the summer and doesn't count on an Academy that pumps out MLS-ready players. It may just be easier to start selling replica crutches in the Dynamo team store.

3) CCL run could help MLS season

The Dynamo were never going to win the Concacaf Champions League. In fact, they were the least likely of the MLS sides to come away with the trophy. What this run did afford them was an earlier start to the season and a great test against one of the region's best teams.

A big benefit that has already been seen is a good start to the season. Four points out of six are a good with another three potentially waiting on Saturday against a Vancouver Whitecaps FC club that has won in Houston only once. What the Dynamo can take away from this experience is the confidence that they fared well against a side who play at a level well beyond most MLS teams. If they can translate the workload they've put in these last couple of weeks, there's no reason why they should't just make the playoffs but finish top four in their conference.

4) Figueroa, Lundqvist stand out

Maynor Figueroa left the Estadio Universitario limping and his status going forward is uncertain. Putting that aside, he may be the Dynamo's most important offseason acquisition - at least up to this point. He has appeared in every match and has brought security, leadership and an edge to a backline that desperately needed all the help in the world. Whether he stays on the field or hits the shelf for awhile, Figueroa may have already fulfilled the expectations the team had for him. Still, the 35-year-old Honduran National Team Captain has plenty left in the tank - as he's shown in the first games of the season.

Another player that could make his mark on the Dynamo in 2019 is left back Adam Lundqvist. Coming on for Beasley in the first half, the Swedish player has waited in the wings for enough time. He's definitely not the finished product but there is very little, if any, dropoff from Beasley and it may just be time to get the player more minutes.

5) Other takeaways from the experience

It would be a mistake to write about the trip to Mexico without acknowledging the passion of the local fans. How can the Dynamo inspire that type of a following and develop similar traditions? Simply by taking the initiative.

Several of the gameday traditions that Tigres has can be emulated by the club. Asking fans to turn on the flashlight setting on their cellphones during games, getting the rest of the stadium more involved in chants and investing money into the team are just a few ways to creating that type of environment. Easier said than done, yes, but not impossible as other MLS teams have shown.

Dynamo player of the game: Maynor Figueroa

The offseason newcomer stood out the most with some good clearances to keep the Dynamo in the game.

Next up:

Saturday, March 16th vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC (2 p.m. CT, KUBE57)

Correction: An earlier version of this article erroneously stated that Vancouver Whitecaps FC had never won in Houston. That has since been corrected to reflect Vancouver's 2-1 win on March 10, 2018 at BBVA Compass Stadium.

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The Rockets are off to a 16-8 start to the season. Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images.

There was a conversation Cleveland guard Donovan Mitchell had during training camp, the topic being all the teams that were generating the most preseason buzz in the Eastern Conference. Boston was coming off an NBA championship. New York got Karl-Anthony Towns. Philadelphia added Paul George.

The Cavs? Not a big topic in early October. And Mitchell fully understood why.

“What have we done?” Mitchell asked. “They don't talk about us. That's fine. We'll just hold ourselves to our standard.”

That approach seems to be working.

For the first time in 36 seasons — yes, even before the LeBron James eras in Cleveland — the Cavaliers are atop the NBA at the 25-game mark. They're 21-4, having come back to earth a bit following a 15-0 start but still better than anyone in the league at this point.

“We've kept our standards pretty high,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said. “And we keep it going.”

The Cavs are just one of the surprise stories that have emerged as the season nears the one-third-done mark. Orlando — the only team still unbeaten at home — is off to its best start in 16 years at 17-9 and having done most of that without All-Star forward Paolo Banchero. And Houston is 16-8, behind only the Cavs, Boston, Oklahoma City and Memphis so far in the race for the league's best record.

Cleveland was a playoff team a year ago, as was Orlando. And the Rockets planted seeds for improvement last year as well; an 11-game winning streak late in the season fueled a push where they finished 41-41 in a major step forward after a few years of rebuilding.

“We kind of set that foundation last year to compete with everybody,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “Obviously, we had some ups and downs with winning and losing streaks at times, but to finish the season the way we did, getting to .500, 11-game winning streak and some close losses against high-level playoff teams, I think we kind of proved that to ourselves last year that that's who we're going to be.”

A sign of the respect the Rockets are getting: Oddsmakers at BetMGM Scorebook have made them a favorite in 17 of 24 games so far this season, after favoring them only 30 times in 82 games last season.

“Based on coaches, players, GMs, people that we all know what they're saying, it seems like everybody else is taking notice as well,” Udoka said.

They're taking notice of Orlando as well. The Magic lost their best player and haven't skipped a beat.

Banchero's injury after five games figured to doom Orlando for a while, and the Magic went 0-4 immediately after he tore his oblique. Entering Tuesday, they're 14-3 since — and now have to regroup yet again. Franz Wagner stepped into the best-player-on-team role when Banchero got hurt, and now Wagner is going to miss several weeks with the exact same injury.

Ask Magic coach Jamahl Mosley how the team has persevered, and he'll quickly credit everyone but himself. Around the league, it's Mosley getting a ton of the credit — and rightly so — for what Orlando is doing.

“I think that has to do a lot with Mose. ... I have known him a long time,” Phoenix guard Bradley Beal said. “A huge fan of his and what he is doing. It is a testament to him and the way they’ve built this team.”

The Magic know better than most how good Cleveland is, and vice versa. The teams went seven games in an Eastern Conference first-round series last spring, the Cavs winning the finale at home to advance to Round 2.

Atkinson was brought in by Cleveland to try and turn good into great. The job isn't anywhere near finished — nobody is raising any banners for “best record after 25 games” — but Atkinson realized fairly early that this Cavs team has serious potential.

“We’re so caught up in like the process of improve, improve, improve each game, improve each practice," Atkinson said. “That’s kind of my philosophy. But then you hit 10-0, and obviously the media starts talking and all that, and you’re like, ‘Man, this could be something special brewing here.’”

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