CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Tom Thibodeau doesn't love soft players. He doesn't have respect for guys who go through the motions and don't give everything they have to the team.

That's why, after just one month of the season, it's so interesting to hear Thibodeau speak about Pau Gasol after games.

Fairly or unfairly, Gasol developed a "soft" tag at various points of his career. Thibodeau, who detests the idea of one of his players being "soft," knows how important Gasol has been to the development of a team that appears destined for championship contention later this season if it can stay healthy.

With 19 points and 15 rebounds against the Hornets, Pau Gasol posted his fifth straight double-double and 11th of the season. Brock Williams-Smith/NBAE/Getty Images

"Pau has great toughness and that's what I love about him," Thibodeau said after watching Gasol rack up 19 points and 15 rebounds in the Chicago Bulls' 102-95 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday night. "The mental toughness is what's huge for our team."

It's that toughness that helped push Gasol through the physical and mental hurdles that comes after playing 50 minutes in a double-overtime loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night.

"That's what a championship player does," Thibodeau said. "That's what this league is about. That you got to have the toughness to get through things. It's not easy."

The 34-year-old Gasol has proven quickly to Thibodeau and his new teammates that he has plenty left in the tank and can be counted on every night. He's also proven to be someone the rest of his teammates listen to in the locker room. Thibodeau said Gasol spoke to the Bulls after Tuesday's loss about staying focused and playing hard on the second night of a back-to-back. It's clearly a message that got through.

"Pau's been huge for us in that regard," Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich said. "Everybody knows what kind of experience he has, the types of teams he's been on, championship teams. When he speaks, guys listen, and it's just invaluable to have him on this team in that regard."

It's also invaluable to play for a team that picks one another up on and off the floor. While Gasol's words may have set the tone, it was also clear that the Bulls wanted to win Wednesday's game for Hinrich, after his admitted "bonehead play" that sent Mavericks guard Monta Ellis to the free-throw line at the end of regulation and, ultimately, into overtime.

Bulls center Joakim Noah, who reinjured his right ankle early in the game but continued to play through the pain, said the Bulls wanted to win the game for Hinrich's hometown of Sioux City, Iowa.

"Kirk is a pro," Thibodeau said after the game. "He's a pro. He does so much for our team. I think all his teammates know how valuable he is to our team. We share in everything together and he's made a number of big plays. His toughness is what's helped us prevail over the past two years. Whatever you need, he does. You can start him, bring him off the bench, play him at the point, play him at the 2. [He] makes tough plays, gives himself up, practices hard every day, makes physical, tough plays. The things that he does on the floor, they do nothing but inspire your team. And he unites guys, so he gets everyone playing for the team."

The same could be said about Gasol.

When the Bulls signed him over the summer, the organization was hopeful he would have a positive impact in the locker room and on the court. Averaging 20 points and 11.2 rebounds a game and fitting in quickly into the fabric of Thibodeau's locker room, Gasol has exceeded all early expectations.

He acknowledged after the game that the fighting spirit the Bulls have shown over the Thibodeau era is something that drew him to Chicago.

"The resiliency of this team definitely attracted me," Gasol said. "How these guys have fought through adversity in different situations, injuries and stuff, and they've still been able to perform at a pretty high level, all things considered. So I thought with my addition things could be even better."

It has been through the first month. Gasol continues to play great along with freshly minted Eastern Conference player of the month Jimmy Butler. Once Noah and Derrick Rose get healthy the Bulls will be even more formidable.

For the time being, Noah is just happy to rack up another win on a night when lesser teams might have just mailed it in on the second night of a back-to-back that came after a 15-day road trip.

"I love that because I think this is the identity of our team," Noah said. "When we hit adversity and when things are tough, I feel like we bring it. It makes us closer as a group, and I think it's good."