Spurs are creating nightmare scenario for the Western Conference in real time

Much of running a front office in professional sports is about planning for the future. General managers and their staff painstakingly comb through scenarios, projecting what will happen over the next X number of years and how their franchises fit in. Everyone should be figuring out how to compete with OKC for the next few years, but the Spurs have already flipped that line of thinking on its head.

The 7'5" Frenchman donning No. 1 on his silver and black jersey is reason number one for the shift, though he's far from the only one driving it. Nobody expected the run to come this early. As much as Victor Wembanyama's peers respect him as the fastest-growing threat in the game, not even they thought he'd be making these strides to come so soon.

Just two months ago, Nikola Jokic told X&O's Chat, "I’m glad that I’ll probably retire before Wemby holds the entire league in a chokehold.” Unless Jokic is planning on hanging his sneakers up at this very moment, he's not getting his wish. The future is now, and that means the entire Western Conference must shift its team-building strategies immediately.

Spurs will be at the top of Western Conference rivals' minds

We're all watching the same thing. San Antonio is next up, and the only way they don't fulfill that is if they somehow implode. The talent is too obvious to ignore, and their poise is so ahead of their time that it's like some sort of Freaky Friday movie where seasoned vets are trapped in the bodies of some unbelievably skilled young athletes.

The guards aren't supposed to be shooting this well, but Stephon Castle is draining threes at a 40% rate this postseason on four attempts per game. Dylan Harper is on his heels at 38% from deep. Their driving ability is the Slash Bros' superpower. It's where the nickname comes from. Touch from deep is supposed to come later.

The rookie has a knack for finishing around the rim no matter who's there. It's Tony Parker-esque. Last year's Rookie of the Year is a bully in the paint, but he reads the floor like a Hall of Fame-level playmaker. Not many guards average the 10th-most assists per game in their second season.

The poise this group is showing is unnatural for a team this young. Franchises are undoubtedly paying close attention and shifting their strategies. Next year's goal is no longer solely about how they can interrupt the Thunder's run; the Spurs' rise demands they become everyone's priority.

Castle and Harper shooting like this while Victor Wembanyama warps the game constantly makes guarding San Antonio feel impossible, and that shouldn't be a sentence spoken out loud this soon.

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