The injuries have taken a bigger toll than initially realized
The Memphis Grizzlies have been without Steven Adams, Xavier Tillman, Jake LaRavia, Luke Kennard, and Brandon Clarke for the majority of the season. It's pretty clear that those injuries have all hurt the team far more than realized. Memphis' depth took a big hit due to injury and the added loss of Ja Morant, due to suspension, hasn't helped any. Generally, the star power of a team can outweigh the absence of depth.
The Grizzlies don't have the luxury with the suspension of Morant. But with the number of injuries that the Grizzlies have suffered, there's not even a guarantee that they wouldn't still be struggling with Morant right now. And that's ultimately the question that's going to be answered when Morant does return.
In a perfect world, Morant is going to return from suspension and the Grizzlies are going to be able to recover from their early-season struggles and work their way back up the Western Conference standings. However, with how much everything is stacked up against them, it would be foolish to automatically expect that to happen. That's why even Morant's return doesn't guarantee the Grizzlies turning their season around.