For now, it means opponents loading up on Wade with zones, traps and double-teams.

"Some games, they're going to try to do that, make anyone else beat them," said Wade, whose team next faces the Raptors on Friday night in Toronto. "Some games, I have to let my teammates beat them."

For now, the support system remains limited.

To put the Heat's reliance on Wade in perspective, consider that he is averaging 16.1 more points than the team's second-leading scorer, center Jermaine O'Neal.

Of the league's top five scorers, no one else faces such a huge disparity. For Kobe Bryant, there at least is Andrew Bynum. Carmelo Anthony has Chauncey Billups. Chris Bosh has Andrea Bargnani. And for LeBron James there is the support system of Mo Williams.

It is among the reasons why, twice over the last two weeks, Wade has been called upon to play the entire second half.

"If we stay aggressive when I get off the ball, knowing that we've got numbers, we should be fine," Wade said.

Yet zones have continued to confound the Heat at times.

"We've got to keep working on it," Wade said of the Heat's zone offense. "We haven't worked on it as much. Teams are going to it a little more against us. We've got to penetrate the same as we do man-to-man and be ready to shoot the ball."

Still, with Michael Beasley now in the starting lineup and with Carlos Arroyo added off the bench, Spoelstra does not see over-reliance on Wade as an issue.

"We have considerably more balance than we did last year at this time," he said.

HAWKS 105, HEAT 90: As was the case in last season's first-round playoff series, the Hawks' athleticism proved too much for the Heat. Factor in 6-of-18 shooting by Dwyane Wade, and this never was much of a contest. Until the Heat can solve the length of Josh Smith and Al Horford, it will remain at a deficit in this series.