I agree with the three things you said. Adaptation, player transition and injuries are three things that Ancelotti is dealing with at the same time. Maybe if Real Madrid current manager was not Ancelotti, we would all see them in the middle of the standings, and probably would not qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League. Luckily Real Madrid have a manager of Ancelotti caliber. The ideal squad built by Florentino Perez for Ancelotti has not worked optimally, maybe it will take longer to see Real Madrid perform at their best.
Ancelotti is so experienced as a coach and he already understands the strengths of Real Madrid even when some of their core players are injured. I agree with you because if Ancelloti was not the coach of Real Madrid, maybe they would be facing much bigger problems now and maybe their position in the standings could be very bad. In the future it will be a little more difficult because Real Madrid have to prepare for some big matches and the struggle to catch up with Barcelona's position is a target that they may be fighting for.