CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Shortly after signing point guard Derrick Rose, Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue went through the film and noticed something unexpected.

Lue knew about Rose's speed, slick handle, explosiveness in the paint and crafty finishes around the rim -- giddy about having someone else to attack the basket.

But it was Rose's passing that stood out.

"I didn't know he was such a great passer," Lue said during training camp. "He makes a lot of great passes and just watching him over the course of these last few days and watching stuff on Synergy, I didn't know he can make a lot of those plays. But he understands how to make the right play and that's good for us, especially with our shooters on the floor."

Perhaps that was shown in early practices. It was also apparent during the preseason, as Rose dished out 14 assists in four games and the Cavs whipped the ball around, showing signs of running a different kind of system.

Only it hasn't translated to the regular season.

In seven games, Rose has more turnovers (19) than assists (12), remarkably poor numbers for the team's starting point guard. And he has yet to play a game this season with a positive assist-to-turnover ratio.

"Just continue to keep attacking, being aggressive," Lue said when asked about Rose's giveaways. "That's what he does. He gets into the paint, he gets fouled, he gets to the free-throw line, he's a great finisher.

"When you're attacking the basket like that, you're going to have a couple turnovers, which I don't mind because they're aggressive turnovers. I don't like careless turnovers, skipping the ball across the floor and turning the ball over. But when you're driving to the basket and attacking, you can live with those turnovers."

During Tuesday's win against Milwaukee, Rose committed four turnovers, matching his season high. Two of them came as he drove to the basket, left his feet -- a bad habit Lue saw on tape that Rose sometimes gets away with -- and tossed the ball away.

Yes, Lue has pressed Rose to attack, to be unconcerned with overall numbers. But the Cavs' offense, the backbone of the team, can't afford sloppy mistakes, especially when Rose isn't making up for them in other ways.

Statistically, they been better with him off the floor, having their rating increase from 108.3 to 112.9.

That might be because of his playing style. On the season, Rose is averaging 1.7 assists. Only 10 players are averaging fewer. Even teammate J.R. Smith, on the court for his floor spacing and 3-point prowess, has more per game.

"The ball's not in his hands the whole time," Lue said of Rose. "With LeBron (James) handling it a lot, with D-Wade handling, he's not really in those positions to really get assists. He's attacking the basket, that's what we need from him and everything else will take care of itself."

While Lue makes a good point about James being the de facto point guard and Wade running the second unit, Rose is still getting ample opportunity.

According to NBA.com stats, Rose boasts the second-highest usage rating on the team -- an estimate of the percentage of team plays used by a player while on the floor. James, the team leader in assists, has a usage rating of 29.7. Rose's is 25.1. As for Wade, who is averaging 4.0 assists, which is good for second best? His usage rating is 21.3.

The real difference is the assist percentage for each. The Cavs need Rose to be more of a playmaker and facilitator, taking some of that burden off James, who is assisting on 45.8 percent of his teammates' field goals when he's on the court.

After preaching ball movement and away-from-the-ball actions heading into the season, the Cavs offense hasn't had enough of that. They currently rank 19th in assists per game and 22nd in assist-to-turnover ratio. It's time to get more diversity, especially from Rose.

Creating shots for himself hasn't been a problem. It's creating for others, a necessity given the other personnel, that has been.