Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg has repeatedly said the Bulls vets have set the tone for the bevy of young players on the roster, leading to a better-than-predicted start to the season.

And with Jimmy Butler’s almost incredulous laugh when asked about his teammates coming into practice early and staying late, one can tell exactly how the example is established and followed.

“I think of it like this: I don’t see what else you have to do all day. I don’t,” Butler said. “Like the job that we have it’s incredibly lenient. Like, you practice for an hour and a half, what do you do the rest of your day? Why don’t you come in here, work on your game? Shoot? Watch some film? All you’re going to do is sit at home and play some video games on your phone anyways.”

Being that Butler is the poster child for hard work and internal improvement, having made three sizeable leaps in his seven-year career and in the conversation as one of the league’s top 10 performers so far, work ethic is what he respects.

Hard work is what he expects as a leader whose voice is counted on and respected.

“These guys are buying into that, which is great,” Butler said. “And when you fall in love with the process you find out that your confidence only comes from the work anyways.”

At least to this point, playing on a team where anything less than a full effort can make one subject of ridicule in film sessions or practices — essentially being shamed into playing hard — is working to this point.

“It’s fun. Because now, we’re all competitors, so now you’re all competing in everything,” Butler said. “(Rajon) Rondo’s out there competing in 3s. Me, D-Wade, everybody. No matter what it is you want to compete, you want to be around your guys. That’s just building a bond.”

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Butler has called Wade “critical” to his success this season, and Wade has pushed Butler while deferring and being extremely complementary.

“For me, he’s just adding a little extra recipe to what he already has. I’m a chef, he’s a cook,” Wade said. “Try to make him a chef. He’s having an unbelievable season. He can do this. What he’s doing now, this is not a facade.

“He loves the game. He loves playing the game. He’s one of those guys, when he doesn’t play well, when the team doesn’t play well, he doesn’t sleep. He’s watching film all the time. He’s the perfect student.”

Second-year forward Bobby Portis has said this has the feel of a college team with how much the players hang out with one another. Butler organized a team activity on the West Coast trip of “Escape Room,” where the players had to find clues in the effort to escape a locked room before the time expired.

“As much as you see guys around each other, you'd think we live in a a dorm together,” Butler said. “We all leave the building at the same time, we all eat together or are at somebody else's house. You would think, good or bad, that we are a college team. We're always talking in a group chat or competing, something about this group of guys, we always wanna be around each other.”

Being 10-6 makes it easy for guys to want to be around each other, but Butler certainly knows all the feel-good stories about team chemistry only apply if the wins far outweigh the losses.

“I told y'all that all last year. It's all fine and dandy when you're winning,” Butler said. “You lose a couple games, it seems everything goes to (spells out expletive).”

And with December having so many games at home after a road-heavy November, the opportunity comes for the Bulls to separate themselves from the Boston Celtics, Atlanta Hawks and Charlotte Hornets — or at the least, solidify themselves as more than an early surprise.

“I'm confident that these guys, each and every time they step on the floor, they're going to go out and compete and that's where it starts,” Hoiberg said. “You've got to go out and play with energy, you've got to play with an edge, and our guys for the most part have done that this season. We've got a tough stretch coming up here, starting with the Lakers tomorrow.”

Of their 17 December games, only three don’t come within a three-in-four-night stretch or four-in-five. While 11 of them are at home, there don’t appear to be many in the easy category.

“All these games are (important). We don't want to lose none of them,” Butler said. “If we could be 82-0, we could. We can't now. Every game is important, especially at home. That's a thing we emphasize. We say it before every game. Home games really matter. These are the ones you must win.”