The nail is the small mark in the middle of the free-throw line, halfway between the two elbows. When a coach says “be at the nail”, he means the defender one pass away on the help side should be standing on that spot rather than next to his own man.
From there you can see the ball, touch the driving lane, and still get back out to a shooter at the top.
Why coaches use it
A middle drive is the most dangerous drive in basketball, because the man with the ball can finish either way and every help defender has to commit. Putting somebody on the nail means that drive is met around the free-throw line, some 14 feet or a little over 4 metres out, by a defender who has not left the paint and does not need a rotation behind him.
It is also the cheapest help there is. The nail defender is usually guarding a player at the top or the slot, so his closeout is short and straight. Compare that to help from the corner, which costs you a whole rotation.
The nail is where a defense puts its most reliable helper, not its best athlete. This is a job about being early and being in the right place, not about being quick.
How to attack it
- Cut through him. In pass-cut-fill motion, the cutter goes right through the nail. A defender who is guarding a cutter is not sitting in the lane.
- Drive away from him. Attack the side he is not on and he has to cross the lane to help, which takes long enough for a drop-off.
- Lift the slot. Pull his man up above the arc and the nail defender has to choose between the spot and the shooter.
- Throw it to the high post. If the nail is occupied by a defender rather than his own man, the man he should be guarding is open.