After calling out LeBron James, Avery Johnson calls out rookie Derrick Favors before loss to Orlando

Derrick Favors' demeanor hadn't changed. He slouched in front of his locker and spoke softly, vaguely, while trying to explain another humdrum effort.

If anything was going to change - and if coach Avery Johnson's plea for more aggression was to garner any results from Favors - it wasn't during or after Monday night's 104-88 loss to the Magic at the Rock in Newark.

"I think I did good for the most part," he said. "But I still have to pick it up a little bit more."

Johnson was looking for a lot more. For the first time this season, he called out his prized rookie for not being assertive off the bench. Before, Johnson preached "due time" and "baby steps."
"He's got to give us a reason to start him," Johnson said. "We need to see more consistent energy. We need to see him dunk on three people one night. We need to see more than what he's been giving us.

"Yes, he's 19. Yes, he's a rookie. But one of the discussions we had (Sunday) was we just need to see a little bit more energy."

"You can't go through five games without a block," Johnson said about Favors. "We need to see blocks and dunks - even attempted dunks. I don't mind if he goes and tries to attempt a dunk on somebody and gets a charge and really just be into the game.

"When you're only playing 14, 16, 18, 20 minutes, there's no saving yourself. You should play to exhaustion."