Avery Johnson said earlier this month that he was looking to put rookie Derrick Favors into the starting lineup earlier than the Nets projected, but the forward is still coming off the bench.

"What we told him today — he's got to give us a reason to start him," Johnson said. "We need to see more consistency. He needs to dunk on three people in a night."

Johnson added that the team does have a plan for Favors to start, and he said, "I would have liked to have done it around here."

Kris Humphries has played well, making it hard for New Jersey to take him out of the starting lineup.