HEAT-PISTON NOTEBOOK

MIAMI – The Pistons planned to make Heat guard Dwyane Wade work as hard as possible on defense to exploit his rib strain in last night’s Game 7 of the Eastern Finals.

The Pistons had the option of posting Wade up if he’s assigned to Tayshaun Prince or running Richard Hamilton around a billion screens.

“We got to attack him and make him work to see how he is,” Hamilton said.

Wade missed game 6, but Miami coach Stan Van Gundy said he was certain he’d get him back last night, though for how many minutes, he didn’t know.

“It’s Game 7 and he’s great competitor,” Van Gundy said. “I’d be surprised if he didn’t go out and give it a shot. I expect him to play.”

Van Gundy admitted there wasn’t much he could do to spare Wade from potential Piston pounding.

“There’s no way of playing around your injury,” Van Gundy said. “There’s no excuses anyone cares about anymore.”

Pistons GM Joe Dumars said he’s had a slight rib strain before. “Probably not as severe as Wade has it right now,” Dumars said, “but it’s tough to turn and move.”

The defending champion Pistons, who toppled the Lakers dynasty last year, are annoyed at the notion a victory would be tarnished because of Wade’s injury.

“There’s no asterisk,” Chauncey Billups said. “It’s part of the game but at same time I wish everybody was fine because we got two great teams here.”

Said Pistons coach Larry Brown: “I hope he can play. . . . You don’t want to see anybody shorthanded in meaningful games like this.”

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Van Gundy was fired up in the hours before Game 7, unlike his haggard look Saturday night after the Game 6 debacle in Detroit.

“This is as good as it gets,” he said. “If you’re not excited about the opportunity tonight, I don’t understand it.”

Van Gundy was amused to be asked if he planned a motivational speech, saying, “If there’s a guy in the locker room who needs a motivational speech from me before Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals, he doesn’t belong in the league.”