On Friday evening, head coach Tom Thibodeau and the New York Knicks took on possibly the hottest team in the NBA, the Miami Heat, in a rematch of last year's Eastern Conference semifinals series, which the Heat won in six games. Coming into the game, Thibodeau knew that arguably the Knicks' biggest test would be their defense against Heat star Jimmy Butler, who has been picking up his play as of late after a rather sluggish start to the season.

In fact, it seems that Thibodeau thinks more highly of Butler than most, as evidenced by his pregame comments.

“Jimmy Butler is a top-five player in this league, and Bam (Adebayo) is right there with him,” said Thibodeau, per Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News. “Bam is having a monster season.”

Jimmy Butler certainly looked like a top five player during Miami's demolition of Tom Thibodeau's Knicks during last year's postseason. While he isn't necessarily a superior athlete or an elite jump shooter, at least by the standards of other NBA superstars, Butler indeed does have a knack for amping up his game tenfold come postseason time, or at least for the first couple of rounds of the playoffs, as was the case a season ago.

Regular season Jimmy Butler seems to sometimes get lost in the fray due to the relatively pedestrian stats he puts up during the year, but fans and coaches alike are more than aware of the capabilities he possesses if you allow him to get going.