Since returning from Beijing, Team USA has been basking in the joy of winning the gold medal. Their fans have also been enjoying the victory, and why shouldn't they? The team played with a passion that brought back memories of the USA squads that captured the world's imagination in the early 1990s.
They played incredible, precise, disciplined, selfless basketball.

Now, for the first time in eight years, there won't be any talk of failure, selfish basketball, or the world catching up, only praises for the Olympic champions ? that is unless your name is Dwight Howard.

The team's only true center was the recipient of some surprisingly harsh and, in my opinion, unfair criticism from FoxSports.com NBA analyst Charley Rosen.

Rosen gave Howard a grade of D-plus, saying that he "failed to dominate the paint."  He also added that Howard "dunked with admirable authority against inferior opponents," and said he "Played miserable defense and was a liability at the stripe."

That was the gold medal Team USA won, wans't it? Howard was a big piece to the puzzle, wasn't he?
It's probably not too far of a stretch to say that Howard is getting a bum wrap from Mr. Rosen. He wasn't the team's best player, but he did very well in the role he was asked to play. When he was in the game he was usually the only true interior player on the floor; that's a difficult position for anyone to be in.

Sure, having LeBron James on your left and Carmelo Anthony on your right sounds great, but those guys are perimeter players. Their specialties aren't rebounding or guarding big men, even if they're capable of doing these things at times.

Being on the floor without another true interior presence forced him to control everything that went on in the paint for Team USA, something he did very well. His effort and activity led to him grab 5.8 rebounds per game, second only to Bosh, and it also helped his teammates excel in the rebounding department. If Howard wasn't grabbing a rebound, he was stopping his opponent from grabbing them; those things are too often missed because they don't show up in the stats.

His presence on the defensive end of the floor was also big for the team. It allowed the guards to get steals by aggressively attacking the opposition. They understood that is was okay to gamble because Howard is a great shot blocker and could stop most easy baskets if they got beat.  His seven total blocks were second only to James; however, we don't keep stats of how many shots he altered. You have to believe that seeing him waiting in the lane caused several players to change their shots, which led to rebounds and easy baskets for his team.

Howard was also solid on the offensive end of the floor. Making 35-of-47 shots attempted, he stayed true to the game that has made him a star. He had some nice baby hooks, lay-ups, and monster dunks while playing through the nightly hack jobs that his opponents tried to pass off as defense.

As far as his failure to dominate the paint, most people would agree that the international game doesn't have the same type of paint we're used to seeing in the NBA. It can be argued that there really isn't any paint to dominate because international big men play a game that includes a lot of perimeter play; most battles between centers aren't taking place down low.

But how can anyone shoot over 70 percent and not be considered dominant? Let's not forget that Howard wasn't put on Team USA to do exactly the same thing he does for the Orlando Magic. So expecting him to score 20 points every night is silly. Based on how well he shot the ball, it's safe to say he could have been the high-scorer every night if he got 15 shots each game.

There is not much more Howard could have done in the role he was asked to play; he was only on the floor for an average of 16 minutes per game. Sure, he missed some free throws and needs to improve in that area, but as a unit Team USA struggled at the line, shooting 68 percent, so it's not fair to come down on him as if he missed every shot he took.

He showed an incredible amount of maturity and patience during the Olympics. He did a great job of dealing with everything from having a simple role on the team to dealing with the inconsistent officiating that didn't allow him to be as physical as his opponents. People seem to forget that he's a 22-year-old star who is still developing his game. The free-throw shooting will get better as will everything else about his game.  

It's too bad that Mr. Rosen didn't consider these aspects before he handed out his grades. Then again he did give Carlos Boozer a C-minus, and he didn't even play much. Perhaps he graded Howard on a different scale; guess we'll never know.