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15. Denver Nuggets (12)

Hey! Paul Millsap's back!

Hopefully, his plodding offense and sturdy defensive presence will level out a Denver Nuggets squad that scored (and surrendered) vast heaps of points in February. For the month, Denver registered the league's second-best offense and worst defense. Its average final score during that 10-game span was 119.7 to 117.1.

Though the margins were slim, Denver scored enough to win. The Nugs were 7-3 in February.

14. Milwaukee Bucks (9)

The Milwaukee Bucks have dropped three of their four games since the break, and Giannis Antetokounmpo has looked more off than on lately. He managed just 11 points during Wednesday's blowout loss at Detroit.

Antetokounmpo gets a pass for his lagging play. He's carried the Bucks all year amid shoddy coaching, backward schemes and strange lineups. His knee appears to be bothering him, and he deserves to feel worn down.

Milwaukee continues to get in its own way, costing itself games with head-scratching moves such as paying extra attention to Rajon Rondo on the perimeter down the stretch of an overtime loss to the Pelicans last Sunday.

13. Indiana Pacers (11)

Indy tried its best to avoid double-dipping into the inexcusable-loss pool, but it couldn't make up a 20-point deficit against Atlanta on Wednesday. And so, we have a Pacers club that went into the break with serious momentum but is now trying to figure out how it gagged up two contests to the tanking Mavs and Hawks.

This mini-skid has been a two-way thing. Dallas scored 41 fourth-quarter points against a snoozing Pacers defense, then Indiana's offense coughed up 24 turnovers in the Atlanta loss.

"We're getting a taste of what it's going to be like going down the stretch with these remaining games," head coach Nate McMillan told reporters after the Hawks contest.

Indiana had better shape up, or the No. 4 seed could wind up down in the eight hole real quick.

12. Oklahoma City Thunder (10)

You know how Russell Westbrook delights in making interviewers uncomfortable? How he displays a fatigued hostility belying what seems like a belief that every question he fields is dumber than the last? How he cultivates annoyed inscrutability?

That's sort of the same sense that washes over you when trying to analyze Westbrook's team. It's aggravating, and it's tough to get good explanations.

Because while the Thunder are 4-1 against the Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets and Toronto Raptors this year, they somehow struggled to survive against the Kings, Mavericks and Magic. Westbrook iced Sacramento with a game-winning triple back on Feb. 22 and had to hit a clinching foul shot to beat the Mavericks on Wednesday.

The moment of truth lies ahead, as 14 of Oklahoma City's final 19 games come against teams with winning records.

Is OKC a top-four seed or a possible lottery club? We're about to find out.

11. San Antonio Spurs (8)

First, Gregg Popovich said he'd be surprised if Kawhi Leonard played this year. Then, suddenly, Leonard rejoined the team, and reports indicate he could play in March.

The intrigue is almost too much, and while the bizarre double-talk and lack of communication between player and organization could have far-reaching effects, the good news is that it doesn't affect our rankings.

We've been grading the Spurs without Leonard for most of the season, and at no point was his imminent return a factor in that analysis.

Though San Antonio ranks second in defensive efficiency and fifth in net rating, the recent picture is bleaker. The Spurs closed out February with a 2-7 record. During Wednesday's loss to the Pelicans, LaMarcus Aldridge's sprained ankle offset Rudy Gay's strong return from a heel setback. And without Aldridge around to anchor things late, the Spurs succumbed to uncommon bouts of self-pity and poor execution.

"It's a terrible mistake [to feel that way]," Manu Ginobili told Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News. "We said, 'OK, we're missing a lot of guys,' and we stopped executing when we needed it most."

It's getting harder to recognize these Spurs.