At first what seemed like an innocent scream quickly turned into a very pointed effort to deter the Toronto Raptors’ effort to advance to the NBA Playoffs. Despite being on their home court at Scotiabank Arena, taking on the Chicago Bulls, there was one fan in attendance who did her best to make the home team feel like they were far from home.
As mentioned, at first this seemed like perhaps an accident or an uncontrollable incident. Instead, it was apparently DeMar DeRozan’s daughter sitting under the hoop, letting out a shrieking scream each and every time a Raptors player stepped to the free-throw line.
She got very strategic, timing her interruption just as each Toronto hooper got into their shooting motion, surely impacting their thought process and ability to concentrate in an otherwise silent arena.
Did we mention this was a home game for the Raptors? Of course, DeRozan spent the first nine seasons of his career with the Raptors, becoming a four-time All-Star, making this matchup all too personal.
Still, the behavior was downright strange to hear in such a big game or any competitive event for that matter. Yet, we also cannot deny its apparent effectiveness.
The Raptors came into the matchup shooting ranked 17th in the NBA, shooting 78.4% from the charity stripe. But on Wednesday night, with a screaming opposing fan in attendance? The Raptors shot just 18-of-36 from the line, or 50%.
Although she didn’t play a single minute, it’s hard to ignore the potential impact this young fan had on the Bulls vs. Raptors Play-In game. Especially considering the Bulls won by just four points. Is Diar DeRozan the real MVP?
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