The Bulls can practice or not practice. They can hold team meetings or tea parties. They can spew profanity after embarrassing losses or sing praises after victories.
Really, their championship chances come down to this: Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah have to return to their previously elite status, or at least very close to it.
"For us to be our best, they have to be their best," coach Tom Thibodeau said.
The Bulls responded to three days of apathy and analysis - lots and lots of analysis - that featured Tuesday's team meeting with exactly what they needed.
Beyond their convincing 104-81 victory over a hot Spurs team, they displayed an attacking, aggressive mentality. They defended, holding the Spurs to 37 percent shooting. They won the hustle areas, the rebounding and second-chance points.
They showed a pulse.
And Rose, who has been cleared of all restrictions on playing time, led the way. With Noah sidelined for a fourth straight game because of his right ankle injury, Rose finished with 22 points and five assists in close to 27 minutes. Of his 16 shots, 12 came from inside 10 feet.
Rose has scored 18 or more points in seven straight games and is averaging 24.8 points in his last five.
"Just push the ball, hit the lanes, play aggressive," Rose said. "They're not double-teaming me or going under screens, so I'm just taking what the defense is giving me and playing with a lot of confidence right now."
The victory featured some different lineup combinations from Thibodeau, including just the third first-quarter appearance from seldom-used veteran Nazr Mohammed and Tony Snell back starting for the injured Mike Dunleavy instead of Kirk Hinrich.
Both Mohammed and Snell played well. Mohammed, whom Thibodeau praised for always staying ready, grabbed three rebounds in close to 10 minutes with a physical presence. Snell, whom Thibodeau said played his best game of the season, scored 12 points as all five starters reached double figures.
The Bulls led by as many as 25, the perfect remedy for an eventful week.
"You go through ups and downs through the course of a season and it's how you navigate through those things," Thibodeau said. "The important thing is to be mentally tough through adversity and concentrate on what's important and that's trying to improve."
Rose offered his support for Thibodeau and called Tuesday's meeting - the first since Thibodeau has arrived, according to Rose - a positive development.
"Do anything for the team," Rose said of the meeting's message. "Give yourself up for the team. The way that we've been playing doesn't have anything to do with Thibs. He's preparing us right. It's up to the players to give effort."
Pau Gasol, who posted his 25th double-double with 12 points and 17 rebounds, also said the meeting helped aid Thursday's effort.
"It's a relief," Gasol said of the team's response. "If we can play this defense against one of the top teams, we can do it against anyone."
The Bulls didn't need extended minutes from Rose on Thursday. In fact, he only played 45 seconds in the fourth quarter because the Bulls were up 20 and he felt some stiffness he said is a non-issue for Friday in Dallas.
Rose entered averaging 32.8 minutes in 10 January games. That's up from 30 minutes in December and 25.9 in November. Rose logged a season-high 37 minutes, 6 seconds in Saturday's loss to the Hawks.
"I feel great," Rose said.
Initially, the Bulls' medical staff limited Rose because he was returning from back-to-back, season-ending knee surgeries and he had played just 10 NBA games in the last two seasons. But Rose has started to string games together and played the entire first quarter of recent games.
And while it's unlikely his average minutes per game will increase significantly, Thibodeau has been given the green light.
"I think the more he plays, the better he's going to be," Thibodeau said.
Just like Thursday's overall effort, that's exactly what the Bulls need.
Twitter @kcjhoop