How Bulls star DeMar DeRozan's shrieking daughter could have affected the outcome of an NBA postseason game, according to a sports psychology expert

• DeMar DeRozan's daughter Diar helped her dad's team by screaming during the Toronto Raptors' foul shots.
• The Raptors shot just 18-for-36 from the line. Diar could be considered Chicago's MVP.

During the NBA play-in tournament, DeMar DeRozan's daughter Diar unexpectedly became a star.

As the Chicago Bulls mounted their comeback against the Toronto Raptors, Diar could be heard screaming as the Raptors attempted their free throws.

Because the game was in Toronto, Diar's shriek pierced the air, and the effects were apparent.

While it's difficult to ascribe a direct value to Diar's impact, the numbers don't lie. The Raptors, who as a team had gone 78.4% from the line on the season, went 18-of-36 (50.0%) in their do-or-die game against the Bulls.

The Raptors wound up losing by four. You could argue that Diar made the difference.

According to sports psychology expert Dr. Sian Beilock, interruptions such as Diar's can affect performance, especially in the case of free throws.

Beilock explained that the still moments of a sport — foul shots or penalty kicks, for example — can put an extra bit of pressure on athletes.

"I think those moments give players opportunities to really think about what they're doing, which can be especially disruptive," Beilock told Insider. "Foul shots are interesting because objectively it's not that hard of a shot. And so we know the psychological underpinnings of it are really important. If it was just skill, professionals would make them most of the time, which doesn't always happen."

So the Raptors were especially vulnerable to disruption at the foul line; it's more difficult to get a professional out of their head in the heat of the moment, as they drive into the lane or run in transition, than it is to bother them in the stillness between free throws.

But the Bulls had another thing working in their favor with Diar's screams — they were an unfamiliar interruption.

"The important point from my research is to get used to whatever you're going to perform under. I talk about it as closing the gap between training and competition," Beilock said. "Dead silence could also be unsettling if you're not used to that either, right? I think that's what's most important — that however one is getting ready for that high-pressure situation is as close as possible to what they're gonna perform under."

Largely, NBA foul shots are attempted in one of two contexts. For the home team, there is a murmured hush from the crowd as they give their player the space they need to make the shot. For the away team, the home crowd goes into a frenzy, screaming away and swinging objects in the air to distract the shooter. Both of these settings would be familiar to an NBA player.

But what isn't familiar is a nine-year-old girl with extremely good seats just under the basket and a whole-hearted commitment to getting under the home team's skin.

"Anything you're not used to [can have an impact]. The whole idea is to get used to the situation you're gonna perform in," Beilock said. "So if it's unexpected and it causes you to change how you're thinking about performing, that could, could potentially have a negative impact."

Diar forced the Raptors into a situation that they could not have prepared for, and once the shots started missing, the problems compounded. According to Beilock, that's another factor that athletes deal with when trying to break out of a funk.

"A series of mistakes causes you to try and control your performance more, and that can be counterproductive," she said.

Diar's impact might be tough to replicate. At nine years old, she can't be sitting courtside for every one of her father's road games. But it might be time for home arenas to start experimenting with new forms of distractions against opposing players.

Several college teams with committed student sections have innovated in the space for quite some time.

At Arizona State, for example, the "Curtain of Distraction" reveals a secret distraction to opposing free throw shooters.

It might be difficult to get the same amount of hype you'd fine in a student section from the expensive seats right under the basket during the NBA playoffs, but for any team looking for an advantage, there are ideas out there.