This Week in Moments: 11/3/2023

-- Written by @STEVEYGIII, NBA Top Shot, NFL All Day, UFC Strike and Candy MLB collector--

Immediate disclaimer that I may own or have recently purchased moments in this blog post. If that is too much to handle and you think this is a pump and dump blog; rage tweet me once, then go back to tweeting Taylor Swift is shown too much on football games hot takes. If you can survive past that, let's go have some fun watching moments.

Background. I set a personal goal this year to crank out more regular content and to make content I think people want to read (or watch). I enjoy doing the long form (an 8 minute blog read is an eternity in this age of Tik Toks and Instagram stories), but wanted to get a more regular set of columns I can crank out weekly and get into a rhythm with the NBA Top Shot community. This marks the first edition of This Week in Moments, a nod to the timeless classic tv show from the 90s, This Week in Baseball; which was the best plays, players and all things encompassing baseball each week. Every week this season we'll take a look at 2~3 (roughly because I always reserve the right to change my mind) players, who are standing out for one reason or the other and take a look at a key moment from that player's collection. Odds are we won't see many 60ks in here, but hey you never know. Also, this is not financial advice, unless you want it to be. This week we look at two of Detroit's young promising stars! Let's dive in...

Jalen Duren. I had a strong feeling in the off season that Duren was going to be a huge breakout candidate. The numbers when he got significant playing time last year were too good to ignore. Detroit is a young team, but full of talent and Duren is going to benefit from playing with a good young nucleus. The James Wiseman trade and hype proved to be fake news and Duren is balling. Take a look at the first 6 games out of the gates where he is averaging a double double and go grab a TSD quad badge if you haven't already.

Outside of the Paolo dunk, in my opinion this is the best pure highlight of any rookie last year. Duren is the real deal.

Cade Cunningham Let's stay in Detroit for one more, with Cade Comeback SZN in full effect. Cade dropped 30 points and 9 assists on his opening night back and is going to be an absolute force this year. I could see him with 40 points just as easily as 15 assists depending on the night. He has all around talent in that young Detroit team and is going to be fun to watch. He is slightly under the radar still as Detroit rebuilds, but make no mistake is the best player on a team, bound to emerge. I won't be shocked if Detroit sneaks into the playoffs. I've had the Cade MGLE on the watch list way too long and have watched the floor rise back up. It's his only rare right now, so if you are a spec buyer, this is a good one if you think it hits before he gets a 2nd rare. Personally, I am waiting to see if he gets an early season 2nd rare to drop this down in price a little then absolutely snagging this up. When you put the 2x and reigning MVP, World Champion Nikola Jokic on absolute skates, you've made a moment.

Enjoy the column, hit up the Twitter machine for the dialogue and until next week, we ride at dawn...