Move The Nail Defender -

Six tips for moving the “NAIL” defender to aid in top penetration contributed to the FastModel Sports Basketball Plays and Drills Library by Randy Sherman of Radius Athletics.

Some thoughts on ways to employ false motion and spacing to move the help defender and create driving opportunities from the top.

You might not be able to use all of these, but you can employ one or two to improve your spacing.

Every basketball coach knows the frustration of a well-spaced offense getting clogged by a single alert help defender sitting on the nail. That defender at the foul line is often the difference between a clean driving lane and a contested, low-percentage attempt from the top of the key.

The good news is that you don’t need a complex scheme to solve this problem — just a handful of well-timed actions that force the nail defender to commit elsewhere. In this post, we’ll break down six practical ways to use screens, cuts, and false motion to pull that help defender out of the driving lane. Whether you run one of these concepts or mix several into your offense, the goal is the same: open up top penetration by making the defense choose between helping and covering their assignment.