CLEVELAND -- LeBron James was sick last week and was treated as if he had the swine flu. But James will probably still play tomorrow night at Pitt's Petersen Events Center when he and the Cleveland Cavaliers play the Dallas Mavericks in an NBA preseason game.

The flu is making its rounds through the Cavaliers and the team took a proactive approach and treated all players for swine flu. James did not play in a game last week.

"I just laid in bed for two days," James said.

But James played 19 minutes Friday night against San Antonio and had 22 points. Cleveland's coaches decided to rest James and teammate Shaquille O'Neal Saturday night against Dallas because it was the second game in two days.

Due to the flu and some other injuries, coach Mike Brown said his team is a little behind in preparation for the season. After tomorrow, the Cavaliers' final preseason game is Wednesday in Columbus, Ohio. The Cavaliers start the regular season next Tuesday against Boston.

"I'm not a guy that gets sick a lot, but I knew a few days before it happened," James said. "I felt my throat [get] itchy and dry. I thought, 'Oh yeah, I'm getting sick.'

"But if this [flu] is going to happen, this is the best time, not in the middle of the season."

Game time is 7:30 p.m tomorrow. Tickets are available at the Petersen Events Center, Mellon Arena, all Ticketmaster locations and at www.ticketmaster.com.

Looking for more from the Post-Gazette? Join PG+, our members-only web site. You'll get exclusive sports content, opinion, financial information, discounts from retailers and restaurants, and more. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.