ORLANDO - Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said he wanted Kyrie Irving to be aggressive with LeBron James taking Wednesday's game off against the Dallas Mavericks.

However, somewhere there was a disconnect, because Irving must have heard, "Shoot, shoot, shoot."

A game-high 33 points on 12-of-28 shooting along with a late game-saving steal allowed the Cavs to squeak by the Mavericks in a 99-98 victory at The Q. But it was his unwillingness to get others involved that left onlookers and his teammates scratching their heads.

After the game, a few players were puzzled to how their point guard managed to register just one measly assist while playing 39 minutes. They were frustrated, but the win and Irving's huge defensive play lessened the anger.

The notion within the locker room is that the situation is tolerable, because it isn't permanent. If the Cavaliers were dealt the misfortune of playing without James for an extended period of time, this locker room would be boiling over.

Players are growing tired of Irving's inability to not only register a proper amount of assists at the lead guard position, but also to just move the ball.

Did Irving pass more than once? Of course, but only when he was forced to do so. At one point in the second quarter, he dribbled relentlessly for 24 seconds and went nowhere. Dallas' Chandler Parsons stayed in front of him and let him do all that fancy dribbling in one spot. Irving ended up settling for a tough mid-range jumper that clanked off the rim.

His teammates were in disbelief.

Lue didn't want to rain on Irving's parade during his postgame address. He reiterated that the plan was for Irving to stay in attack mode, but the way his point guard played attacked the morale of his team.

Instead of worrying about how to come together to defeat the Mavericks, players were internally wrestling with knowing they weren't going to touch the ball much, if at all. That's not winning basketball.

Right now, Irving isn't ready to lead his own team. He has a grand total of four assists in his last two games.

James brings peace and tranquility to an offense. He's able to pick his spots and understands that being aggressive doesn't mean looking for your shot on every possession. James' presence masks a lot of this team's inefficiencies.

For his teammates' sake, they are hoping he continues to do so.