In case you missed it, for the fourth time in his career, LeBron James had at least 50 points in a game -- pouring in 51 in Tuesday's overtime win over Memphis -- along with eight rebounds and nine assists. It was the sixth win in seven games for the Cavaliers and raised their record to 20-12 with him and 0-6 without him.

James enters Thursday's game at San Antonio averaging 29.8 points, with career-highs in rebounds (7.7), assists (7.5), field goal percentage (.487) and blocks (1.1) -- not to mention 2.0 steals a game as well.

So instead of falling apart, which so many prognosticators anticipated after their unlikely run to the Eastern Conference championship last season, James has inched the Cavs right back into contention for the fourth seed in the pathetic Eastern Conference. But the question remains: How long can he continue to do this without significant help? We saw how it broke down Kevin Garnett in Minnesota, how frustrated Kobe Bryant got after Shaquille O'Neal left, and now Dwyane Wade is suffering in Miami with the rapid deterioration of Shaq.

Granted, James just turned 23 and is an amazing physical specimen at 6-8, 250. But he does suffer a lot of sprained ankles, and so much is expected of him every game because there is no other consistent performer on the Cavs. And now that coach Mike Brown has been given an extension, it's time to figure out what to do next.

We've heard about the Cavs acquiring Mike Bibby ad nauseum -- whether he's really worth Drew Gooden and everything else required or just a vastly overpaid, undersized streak shooter.

But given no restrictions, who would be the ideal player to join James with the Cavs?

The first player who comes to mind is the player they lost for nothing ... Carlos Boozer, who essentially conned the Cavs into free agency and bolted to Utah. They'd certainly handle that differently if given the opportunity again. But Boozer is hardly the ideal, just an All-Star they let get away.

Garnett is an obvious one, but I'm inclined to think if I'm reaching into the NBA grab bag, my first choice is Dwight Howard, a great shot-blocker to run the floor with James. Tim Duncan is the other versatile big man that comes to mind quickly, and probably Amare Stoudemire.

But is the big man the perfect pairing?

What about pure long-range shooters such as Michael Redd, Ray Allen, Rashard Lewis, Mike Miller, Wally Szczerbiak, Mike Dunleavy or even a Jason Kapono? Hmmm, probably not worth it considering James' young sidekick from last year's conference championship run, Daniel Gibson, is proving to be as consistent (90-of-183, .492) as any 3-point shooter in the NBA the first half of the season. A sleeper who could really help shooting and toughness on this team is personal favorite Caron Butler.

That takes us to a much more obvious position -- point guard, which is why Bibby's name continues to surface with the Cavs. But is he the pure point guard that Steve Nash, Jason Kidd, Chris Paul or Deron Williams is? He's not even close. And while Paul and Kidd aren't the versatile shooter that Bibby is, Nash and Williams are better in all phases.

Granted, it's easy since no trade has to be made, but since this is our game, we can pick whoever we want, whenever we want.

So if I'm picking a partner for James, my choice is Dwight Howard.

Who's yours?